Crucifix

n.d.
Unknown Artist (Spanish Colonial?)

Object Type	Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection
Medium	silver
Credit Line	Bates College Museum of Art, Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection, Gift of the Marsden Hartley Estate, 1951.2.53.6.a
Accession Number	1951.2.53.57

Foliate terminals, pendants, and style of body and loin cloth typical of Spanish Colonial examples. The pendants appear in a few other examples, but are relatively unusual. Crucifix with foliage probably refers to the Tree of Life and is comparable to medieval examples as early as the thirteenth century.
Consider the possibility that this was once attached to “necklace/pendant” 1951.2.28a-c.
Foliate terminals probably refer to cross as Tree of Life. Examples currently on the market are mostly 19th century. Many are made of so-called Alpaca silver, a non-silver alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc or iron invented in Germany and used in Mexico and the American Southwest. Some are attributed to Bolivia.
- Rebecca Corrie, July 27, 2020