Four Ornamental Plaques (Mayas)
Peruvian Viceroyalty, Moxos? (Bolivia), ca. 1725
Repoussé and chiselled silver
Repoussé and chiselled silver
Height 83 cm; maximum width 42 cm
Weight 2,645 g / 2,380 g / 2,435 g / 2,585 g
Weight 2,645 g / 2,380 g / 2,435 g / 2,585 g
our silver ornamental plaques (mayas) from the Peruvian Viceroyalty, likely made around 1725 in Moxos (Bolivia). Each depicts a flower vase with a two-headed eagle, vegetal motifs, and a medallion inscribed IHS above a “foliage-man” holding cornucopias with herons.
Used to decorate altar steps in Jesuit missions, they reflect Baroque Andean silverwork blending European and local motifs. The two-headed eagle evokes the Eucharistic pelican, symbolizing divine love, while the IHS monogram confirms Jesuit origin. Anonymous and finely crafted, these repoussé and chiselled silver pieces embody the rich ornamental style of early 18th-century mission art.
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