Medallion
Physical Object
1994.005.0001
Nuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)
A small bronze medal provides an example of an inexpensive devotional object possibly owned by a working-class passenger aboard the Atocha. The obverse depicts La Immaculada (the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception) her hands clasped in prayer, head encircled with a crown of stars – a symbol of immortality – and standing in a crescent moon – a symbol of her purity. The scene is surrounded by a knotted Franciscan cord, the belt worn by monks to signify being their bound to Christ. The reverse of the medal is inscribed with the letters “IHS”, a widely used Catholic monogram for first three letters of Christ’s name in Greek (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ); a device popularized by the 15th-century Franciscan disciple Saint Bernardine of Siena. The Christ child stands above the IHS, surrounded by rays of light, holding an orb in one hand, a symbol of his dominion. Below the letters are three intertwined arrows.