Need better pictures. If it was a rosary head, the two medallions on the ends of the chain would probably be solid and have cast pictures or etchings of saints on them.
Look for series of beads that stand for decades, or at least three from the cross to the medallion. It could be some smaller type of rosary article, like if there were 10 beads or links between the medals to form a decade.
It does look early 18th century Spanish. It might be heraldic.
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One pendant is two sea nymphs in an 'S', the other a Portuguese Man o War. Bill Moore believes that it's most likely 22kt gold and at one point had enameling on it and that the brackets possibly held pearls. You asked if Bill could certify it to which he said he could not because although he believes the piece is period style, he could not verify it as a piece from the 1715 Fleet. Did you ever contact DuBois for appraisal purposes, as they have done the Fleet appraisals for many years? Tom
discovering & preserving our past for future generations
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Also, this is not a recent find (I can hear the stampede to the Cabin wreck beach), found around 1990 I believe and "south of Sebastian inlet" could be quite a ways south, like Corrigans.
I'm going to say it's a small rosary chain. It looks like there are spaces and gold end cups for 5 "decade" bead pearls, which have been eaten away during immersion. Chances are the jellyfish is a stylized cross of some kind, and the S might stand for someone's name. Yeah, it was probably enameled over the recessed surfaces in the design, which is pretty typical of european jewelry in that time period.
Humm, I posted a reply earlier and it's not visible so I'll rinse and repeat:
@Tom - Mr. Bill Moore was kind and outrageously helpful. Mr. Dubose and his team said there is no enamel, most likely Bill thought so due to the quality photo I sent. The Dubose team photographed, weighed and measured the Golden Pineapple Sea Nymph in late April, early May. Have not heard back from them to date. Truly a tough puzzle. Thank you for asking.
Details - not much to tell. Found mid-90s a piece of gold peering from the sand. Lady luck. No detector.
Meanwhile, I do hope I did not commit an unwritten sin of posting an old find. Apologies all around.
I am retired and in a position to peruse the net and pester people like Bill and the Dubose folks in an attempt to learn about this piece.
Prior to now, it was neglected in its' cold dark home at the bank. We'd take it out every few years to admire and pet it.
Recently I've photographed it but evidently need to learn how to use the macro.
PS I am considering training a black Labrador to sniff out gold, silver and emeralds.
Yes, a total of five cups and most of you in the know say it held pearls.
Interesting take on the man o war as a stylized cross, I will examine closer.
I thought the same - the 'S' is the initial of the commissioners' (or owners') name, possibly surname. But alas no enamel. Just sea growth that in the photo fakes us out to look that way.
I get the feeling that it was on someone when their ship went down. Just a feeling.
They were probably holding on to it and saying the decade prayers over each pearl. You would move it back and forth in the fingers and then start over. The five beads could also be used for the introduction. So you would start with the introduction, then slowly go back and do the decades, then conclude again over the cross end. There are other ways to use it or say the prayer, but this would be the easiest.
Yeah, enamel is somewhat of a mystery to us, but it was a big part of baroque and rococo jewelry. If there are deep recesses in a design or a open field recessed area with a scratchy, unpolished back, it was probably enameled. If it is just shallow design lines, probably not, as the enamel would not hold up in them.
Last edited by cuzcosquirrel; Aug 18, 2012 at 02:03 AM.
Yeah that would be my second guess. It's pretty hard to tell without seeing the whole object very well. If there are fasteners of some kind on the back that might make sense.
The point against this is that if it is a cloak chain, then the designs are immediately turned sideways. And it would also hang pretty funny.
The bar construction makes it seem like it wasn't meant to have a lot of play in it, like a cloak chain would. The links are rather heavy also. After seeing some of the other jewelry off the 1715 fleet and that newer rosary off the Atocha, unusual heavy links may be more common than I thought.
Traditionally, rosaries consisted of five sets of beads, each set comprised one large bead, representing the Lord's Prayer, and 10 smaller ones (a decade) representing the Hail Mary. The rosary also resembled a garland (wreath or festoon) worn as a crown. This crown of roses, symbolized the spiritual bouquet given to the Blessed Mother. Therefore, a rosary would be a circle, in form of a devotional beaded necklace or bracelet. The bracelet would consist of ten beads on a string, or five, each representing one decade. Since this object is not in a circle form, it was not used as a sacramental tool of devotion. This was likely a pendant which was pinned to clothing as a decorative jewelry piece. The pendants were the dangling pieces hanging from the bar. A mermaid was known as a “sirena” by the Spanish with an “S.” We call one a “siren.” Even the people of Warsaw say “syrenka.” All start with an “S.” This object was likely worn by a male upon his breast of clothes. The pineapples represent a sweet succulent fruit. A mermaid was a symbol of temptation which man needed to resist. If he did not, danger would surely come. This was symbolized by the man-o-war (or perhaps it is a flame-bladed sword). Hope that helps, Laura
Laura, Thanks so much. While I know the piece is not a rosary, the idea is it could have hitch hiked on a rosary (tax avoidance).
Sirena must be the answer. It was in front of me the whole time. And I will examine the man o war closely to see if perhaps it is a flame-bladed sword.
You have helped so much. I am indebted to you for the tremendous insight.
There are some unusual rosary incarnations, such as rosary rings, but mostly they do all form a circle. There is a 16 century one I have seen that has about 7 beads on it and only a small circle on one end. It may not be Catholic though.
The question I think could be answered by looking over the reverse of the piece to see if fastener points are attatched.
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