The Crown of José María Córdova is a

civic crown The Civic Crown () was a military decoration during the Roman Republic and the subsequent Roman Empire, given to Romans who saved the lives of fellow citizens. It was regarded as the second highest decoration to which a citizen could aspire (the ...

, or corolla, presented to

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

by the people of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

in 1825. The crown is exhibited and preserved in the collection of the ''Arts Museum of

Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...

''.

History

After the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...

in 1824, and crossing into

Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...

in 1825,

was recognized by the people of

with a gold corolla symbolizing a new era after the defeat of the

Royalists A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...

. Bolívar declined the crown and instead proclaimed that it rightfully belonged to

Antonio José de Sucre Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá (; 3 February 1795 – 4 June 1830), known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (), was a Venezuelan general and politician who served as the president of Bolivia from 1825 to 1828. A close friend and associate ...

who also declined its ownership and, by choice, gifted it to

José María Córdova José María Córdova Muñoz, also known as the "Hero of Ayacucho", was a General of the Gran Colombian army during the Independence War of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia from Spain. Born in 1799 to a humble merchant family in the Antioquia Depa ...

claiming that it was him who had emboldened the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

in combat. Córdova, who had accepted the crown from Bolívar and Sucre, gifted the crown to the City of Santiago de Arma Rionegro on 10 September of 1825 and sent it with captain Nicolás Caicedo who arrived at Rionegro in January of 1826 after transversing over 4,500 kilometers from La Paz. For over 58 years, the crown was passed along various distinguished families and individuals of Rionegro until 1883 when the ''Banco Oriente'' was founded and the crown was moved there for safekeeping and exhibition. After

Banco Santander Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group ( , , ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Santander, with operative offices in Madrid. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres ...

had acquired ''Banco Oriente'' in 1999, the crown was saved from being transported from the city after the director of the Museum of Religious Art raised concern that the crown along with other objects belonging to Rionegro were being packed for transportation. The crown, along with the other objects, were handed over to public officials and the crown passed to the Museum of Religious Art for exhibition and preservation. On 18 December 2019, after over 20 years of being exhibited at the Museum of Religious Art, the crown was relocated to the Arts Museum of Rionegro to be permanently exhibited in a specially designed display that guarantees its safekeeping. Since its arrival in January of 1826, the crown left Rionegro for the first on 20 July 2024 to be exhibited during the independence day celebrations in the city of Concepción along with other objects which belonged to José María Córdova. The crown is currently a subject of dispute as the city of Concepción, also in the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

, claims its ownership as the rightful birthplace of Antonio José de Sucre.

Composition

The crown, which weighs about 554 grams, consists of a central belt that is 23 millimeters wide and one millimeter thick. One half of the crown is adorned with 24 gold laurel leaves and, the other, with 13 gold

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

leaves representing both a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

and the Martyrs Palm. The crown is decorated with 20 gold coiled threads, seven silver

florets This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

, five diamonds, and around 200 diamond sparkles.

References

{{crowns 1825 works Individual crowns Gold objects

History

Composition

See also

References