A Spanish colonial silver footed presentation dish, possibly Bogota, before 1622

Possibly from the Atocha wreck in 1622.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, South American silver fueled the rise of the Spanish Empire. At the heart of this wealth was Potosí, an isolated city perched in the Andes which became the world’s leading silver producer after the discovery of rich deposits in Cerro Rico. By the early 1600s, Potosí grew into a thriving city of over 150,000 inhabitants, its silver supporting imperial ambitions and global trade.

Potosí’s silver flowed to Europe and Asia but also remained in the Americas, where cities like Bogotá emerged as centres of refined craftsmanship. There, local and European goldsmiths transformed raw silver into sophisticated works blending European Baroque aesthetics with local techniques and materials.

The current dish perfectly illustrates this fusion. Likely crafted in Bogotá in the early 17th century, it showcases the Baroque style with an openwork border adorned with stylized leaves and alternating oval and rectangular bosses, once enameled. This openwork technique, highly fashionable in Spain, allows light to play with the metal. The hallmark is shaped like a crowned pomegranate, very probably corresponding to the city of Bogotá (Cristina Esteras Martín, Marcas de Platería Hispanoamericana, 1992, nos. 348 and 349, pp. 154-155.).It also has later hallmarks, likely Portuguese, indicating that the piece returned to Europe via Portugal.

The decoration, partially enameled, particularly on the bosses, reflects the luxurious tastes of colonial elites who sought to rival Europe. Many such objects eventually made their way to Spain aboard treasure fleets. Among them, the Nuestra Señora de Atocha left the Americas in 1622, carrying over 40 tons of silver in the form of ingots, coins, and crafted objects, before sinking in a hurricane off the Florida Keys. Recovered in 1985, its cargo included candelabra, cups, and silver dishes decorated with similar openwork motifs and pomegranate hallmarks, linking the treasure to the current dish.

Comparable pieces are preserved, notably at the Museo de América in Madrid, including a silver dish with the crowned pomegranate hallmark, salvaged from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha wreck. Though not openwork, its stylistic features and hallmark tie it to the same Bogotá workshops. Other similar examples have appeared at auction, such as at Christie’s (New York, April 16, 1999, lot 161), confirming the existence of a body of colonial goldsmithing from Santa Fe de Bogotá circulating in transatlantic networks.

Whether this dish crossed the ocean or remained in the Americas, it bears witness to the complex legacy of this era: a time when Andean silver was not only a source of imperial wealth but also a medium for extraordinary artistic expression.