Treasure of Torredonjimeno

The Treasure of Torredonjimeno is a collection of Visigoth goldsmith"s work made up of several crowns that the Visigoth kings offered to the Church as an offering. It is one of the most important examples of Visigothic gold and silver work in Spain.

This votive wreath is an offering in the form of a crown, made of precious metals and adorned with jewels. It has a special shape, as it is designed to be suspended by chains from an altar, shrine or image. This type of piece was made as an offering to God and the saints, in order to obtain their protection.

The Torredonjimeno Treasure was probably dedicated to the martyr saints Justa and Rufina, two sisters from Seville. Certain writings and engravings coincide with the time of the saints and refer to God and to these sisters.

Today, a large part of the Torredonjimeno Treasure is kept at the headquarters of the Museum of Archaeology of Catalonia (MAC) in Barcelona.

Historical context

At the beginning of its discovery, in the 20th century, it was discovered that the Torredonjimeno Treasure seemed to belong to a large church in Seville, but recent research has shown that it was part of the trousseau of a temple close to where it was found. This temple is dedicated to the martyr saints Justa and Rufina, a well-recognised place of worship since Late Antiquity.

The Torredonjimeno Treasure was carefully guarded and protected with stone and lime works, forming a kind of box. The emphasis on guarding this visual jewel dates back to the year 711, when it was intended to hide it from the invading Islamic troops, who were forced to strip the churches of their possessions.

In 711, certain groups of Arabs, Syrians and Berbers, under the command of Tarik and from the East and North Africa, defeated the Visigothic king Don Rodrigo in the battle of Guadalete. This triggered the beginning of the Arab domination of the Iberian Peninsula, which lasted until 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs conquered the last Muslim stronghold with the capture of Granada.

How was it discovered and enhanced?

What is known today as the Torredonjimeno Treasure was found in 1926 in the village that gives it its name (Torredonjimeno), in the province of Jaén, in an olive grove two kilometres from the town centre by a farmer who was tilling the land.

Francisco Arjona found the stone and lime masonry work protecting the Visigothic crown under a hole left by some stones. When he showed them to the owner of the estate, the latter did not give them any importance and Francisco Arjona gave them to his sons, who dismantled them.

In 1933, a group of gold dealers came to Torredonjimeno buying old gold, obtaining the pieces of the Tesoro de Torredonjimeno in two lots. Since then, the history of this jewel has been a constant journey through antique markets, causing its pieces to be scattered.

In this way, it reached certain antique dealers and from there, the National Archaeological Museum (MAN) and the Archaeological Museum of Cordoba (MAECO).

List of objects that form part of the Treasury

The Torredonjimeno Treasure is made up of the remains of crosses, most of which are incomplete. They include plain or decorated laminar crosses, crosses with settings or partitioned crosses, among others.

Numerous chains, suspension elements and remains of pendants are documented in the Torredonjimeno Treasure, mostly corresponding to crosses and crowns. Of particular note are the tabulated letters that appear on the pendants, which reveal that they belong to royal crowns.

The crown kept at the MAC in Barcelona has the inscription that tells of the dedication to Saints Justa and Rufina, whose cult is attributed to Saint Isidore, bishop of Seville between 600 and 636.

The main feature of the Torredonjimeno Treasure is the high number of gilded silver pieces, using the technique of gilding by amalgamation with mercury. In the Visigothic treasure, there is a greater number of pieces of glass and less diversity in the gems used. Amethysts have been identified, as have emeralds, mother-of-pearl, garnets, quartz and sapphires.

Synthetic glasses were probably used to replace the gems and show great diversity, with four composition systems documented: soda-lime glasses, with medium or low lead content; potassium-lime silicate glasses with lead oxide; and silicate glasses.

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