Unknown artist, Insignia Medallion, 1800s. Gold filigree and cast gold. Gift of the Stapleton Foundation of Latin American Colonial Art, made possible by the Renchard family, 1990.537.

Mayer Center, Latin American Art

Latin American Art

This object is currently on view

Insignia medallions were popular among both men and women in the colonial era. Women often wore them suspended from choker necklaces; men wore them hanging from pins on their chests, much like military medals today. This filigree medallion bears the IHS monogram (the first three letters of Christ’s name in Greek), a symbol often associated with the Jesuit order.
-- Julie Wilson Frick, 2017

Gifted 26 December 1990 by the Stapleton Foundation of Latin American Colonial Art, made possible by the Renchard Family, to the Denver Art Museum. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.

• Glitterati: Portraits & Jewelry from Colonial Latin America (December 2014 - November 2016, Denver Art Museum)