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Gold and Ruby Salamander Pendant
December
Gold and Ruby Salamander Pendant
This beautiful salamander pendant, of gold set with rubies, reflects the grandeur of the Spanish empire. Gold and silver from the Spanish conquests in the Americas were a primary source of income for the empire. While large numbers of splendid native gold ornaments were melted down for bullion, the ideas of South American craftsmen were often retained. This may explain the fondness for jewels in the form of animals, which appeared during the 16th century. Hernan Cortes, the conqueror of the Aztec Empire of Mexico, recorded in 1526 that among the gold ornaments sent to Spain was a "winged lizard" or salamander. In legend, the salamander was believed to have the magical properties of being able to extinguish and to survive fire - this made it a potent good luck charm on board a wooden fighting ship, where fire was one of the greatest hazards.
The pendant is part of the sumptuous collection of Renaissance gold jewellery recovered from the galleass Girona, which sank of the north Antrim in the storms of 1588, following the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Image: Gold and Ruby Salamander Pendant from the galleass Girona.
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