CROWN OF THE ANDES 231
T
he Crown of the Andes is
a spectacular religious
object, featuring the
the oldest collection
of emeralds on a single artefact
in the world. It was fashioned
by Spanish craftsmen in the
16th century in Popayán (in
present-day Colombia). When the
conquistadors came to plunder
Inca gold, they brought with them European
diseases, and in 1590 a virulent strain of
smallpox swept through the region. The
faithful of Popayán prayed to the Virgin for
deliverance and, miraculously, they were
spared. In gratitude, they decided to create
a fabulous crown for the statue of the Virgin
in their cathedral.The oldest parts of the crown are
the orb and cross at the top.
The rest was added, year by
year, with donations from the
congregation. The centrepiece is
the Atahualpa Emerald, named
after the last of the Inca emperors
and reputedly seized after his defeat
by the Spanish conquistador
Francisco Pizarro. The crown was
displayed once a year during the majestic
processions in Holy Week, but word of its
splendour soon spread, and so, to protect it
from treasure hunters, the church set up a
clandestine group of local nobles called the
Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception.
At the first sign of trouble, its members were
entrusted with dismantling the crown and
hiding the sections in the jungle.
The group kept the crown safe until
1936, when the local clergy sold it to pay for
a new hospital and orphanage. The buyers
were a syndicate of American gem dealers,
who wanted to break up the crown and sell
its jewels. However, it proved such a popular
attraction, including at the 1939 World’s
Fair, that this decision was reversed. It is
now displayed intact at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, USA.Key dates
1532–2015
150015501600170019001590 Citizens of Popayán
pray to the Virgin for help
when an epidemic sweeps
through the region
1599 The statue of
the Virgin in Popayán
Cathedral is “crowned”
1650 English privateers
briefly seize the crown, but
it is recovered after bloody
street fighting1812 Simón Bolívar
captures the crown, but
returns it to Popayán20001800Simón Bolívar, 19th-century
Venezuelan leader[The crown is] extraordinary
for its rarity and its richness
Ronda Kasl
Curator, Metropolitan Museum of ArtCrown of the Andes
Virgin Mary, shown here in a Peruvian painting, c.1680,
was an important figure in post-conquest, early Christian
religious life in the AndesAtahualpa, the last Inca
emperor and guardian of
the Atahualpa Emerald△ Atahualpa Emerald, the crown’s centrepiece1532 Francisco Pizarro
captures Atahualpa, the ruler
of the Incas, and seizes
the Atahualpa Emerald1593 Twenty-four
goldsmiths begin
work on the crownc.1770 The final sections –
the intersecting arches – are
added to the crown1914 Pope Pius X
grants permission for
the sale of the crown
1936 The crown is
sold to a syndicate
of American dealers1939 The crown
is exhibited at the
New York World’s Fair2015 The crown is sold to
the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York230-231_STO_Crown_Andes_Final.indd 231 18/05/2016 18:15