Viaticum box

Although they never reached the same production volume as silver, gold mines also supplied the crown and the clients of the local goldsmiths in viceregal Spanish America, especially in the viceroyalty of Peru. This marvellous viaticum box, probably from a workshop from Lima at the end of the 17th century, was made in gold with enamelled decorations to which emeralds and rubies have been added. It is used, as it name shows, to contain the viaticum; the Eucharist sacrament administered to the sick that are in danger of death.