Thurible

This small silver thurible with a pyramid shape and openwork decoration is a domestic object whose purpose was to contain substances that scented the room where it was placed. It was made at the beginning of the 17th century in the city of Santa Fe de Bogota, the present capital of the Republic of Colombia. This is shown by the stamp or mark of the town printed on its decoration, where there is a pomegranate under a crown, a clear reference to the Audience of New Granada which it belonged. It was part of the private belongings of a passenger of the galleon “Nuestra Señora de Atocha”, which sank in 1622 off the coast of Florida. It had left the port of Havana to join the large fleet which was returning to Spain after uniting the cargo coming from different parts of the continent. The thurible was recovered along with other objects in 1996.