La Lechuga (English: ''The Lettuce'') is a

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic ...

made between 1700 and 1707 by José de Galaz for the of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, then part of the

New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada ( es, Nuevo Reino de Granada), or Kingdom of the New Granada, was the name given to a group of 16th-century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Royal Audience of Santa ...

. It was paid for by a group of

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, probably in order to hide the gems contained in it from the Spanish Crown. Currently, La Lechuga is owned by the Bank of the Republic and is on permanent display at the

Miguel Urrutia Art Museum The Miguel Urrutia Art Museum (Spanish: Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia (MAMU)) is an art museum in Bogotá, Colombia. The MAMU is part of the Banrepcultural Network along with the Botero Museum, the Gold Museum, the Luis Ángel Arango Library, ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

History

It is widely believed that a group of Jesuits ordered La Lechuga to be produced in order to hide the gemstones contained in it from Spanish Crown. The Jesuits contracted the Spaniard José de Galaz whomade the monstrance, with the help of two other goldsmiths, between 1700 and 1707 for a fee of $1,100 Reales (equivalent to $100,000 USD in 1996). When José de Galaz finished making La Lechuga on 16 July 1707, he estimated it to be worth $20,000 Reales, or $2,000,000 USD in 1996. The name comes from the large number of

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

s built into the monstrance, which make it look as green as a

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

. La Lechuga was held by San Ignacio Church until 1767 when King

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_da ...

ordered all Spanish possessions to be removed back to Spain. In order to keep it out of Spanish hands, a group of Jesuits hid Le Lechuga. Its fate during this period of concealment is largely unknown and La Lechuga was not seen in public again until 1985, when Colombia's central bank, the Bank of the Republic, bought it for $3,500,000 USD. Today, La Lechuga is on permanent display at the

in Bogotá, Colombia, as part of the Banco de la Republica Art Collection..

Description

The treasure is a prime example of the gold and silver eucharistic objects made for Catholic church altars in South America particularly in colonial times. It was used to present the consecrated " host", as part of the liturgical ritual of the

Feast of Corpus Christi The Feast of Corpus Christi (), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Christian liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements o ...

, in which it is carried in procession during for

adoration Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration, or love in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin ''adōrātiō'', meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something". Ancient Rome In classical Rome, adorat ...

by the faithful. As a sculpture, it has both

high High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

and low relief modelling. Although highly ornate, the form is that of a typical monstrance, with a cross-crowned disc forming a circular frame to hold the host, supported by an angel, who stands atop a knobbed stem, allowing the faithful to see it. The whole item weighs 4.9 kilograms (10 lbs 13 oz). The main disc is an elaborate circular form with undulating rays symbolizing the sun. From the centre outwards, baroque pearls immediately surround the space for the host, in turn surrounded by waved gold spikes and four tiers of mostly square-cut emeralds. A thick garland of green enamelled vine leaves with amethyst grapes festoon twenty undulating rays, each terminating in a pearl. Between these undulating rays are twenty-two sunbeams, which each end in radiating gold and emerald sun-discs.Banco de la Rebuplica - 2015 interactive photo details provided in Spanis

/ref> The whole circular schema is topped by an emerald cross and below is supported by an angelic " Atlas (mythology), Atlas" figure in a tunic and flowing drapery of blue and green enamel. The angel wears golden

caligae Caligae ( Latin; singular ) are heavy-soled hobnailed military sandal-boots that were worn as standard issue by Roman legionary foot-soldiers and auxiliaries, including cavalry. History Caligae (singular ') are heavy-duty, thick-soled o ...

(open Roman boots), and above its head on the front is a single large

yellow sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphi ...

; on the reverse side is a large, square, high-quality

amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that ...

. Knobbed for a secure hand grip, the stem is styled like a fountain with emerald streams dripping onto an amethyst-studded base, which itself stands atop a footed stand with eight-lobes. Zoomorphic forms (vines and creatures) are densely packed in

low relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impres ...

gold modelling resembling a paradise. According to the current owners, La Lechuga is considered one of the "richest and most beautiful religious jewels""La Lechuga" Goes to the Prado – press release in Spanish
/ref> in Spanish America, and is an example of how the "land of goldsmiths" interpreted the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

. Further, it shows how this artistic style found new dimensions in a

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

where gold and emeralds were abundant.

Jewels

The main frame is composed of of 18 carat gold, in addition to which La Lechuga also contains the following gemstones: * 1,485 emeralds from Muzo,

* 168

amethysts Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

* 62

baroque pearls Baroque pearls are pearls with an irregular, non-spherical shape. Shapes can range from minor aberrations to distinctly ovoid, curved, pinched, or lumpy shapes. Most cultured freshwater pearls are baroque because freshwater pearls are mantle-tis ...

from

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

* 28

diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

* 13 rubies from

Dutch Ceylon Dutch Ceylon ( Sinhala: Tamil: ) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kandyan ...

, today

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

* 1

from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Special exhibitions

La Lechuga left the country for the first time for a special exhibition in Spain's

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from th ...

between March 3 and May 31 of 2015. Between September 20, 2017 and January 15, 2018, La Lechuga was exhibited in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, alongside a statue of Saint Barbara by Pedro Laboria. La Lechuga was also temporarily displayed at the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in late 2018.Quoted in Jaramillo Agudelo (2021), p. 22.

References

Bibliography

* Jaramillo Agudelo, Darío. (2021). ''One hundred treasures from the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia''. Bogotá: Banco de la República de Colombia. {{Colombian emeralds Monstrances Baroque Baroque sculpture Gold sculptures