Crown of the Andes facts for kids
The Crown of the Andes is a beautiful gold crown covered in sparkling emeralds. It was originally made for a large statue of the Virgin Mary in a cathedral in Popayán, Colombia. The oldest parts of the crown, like the small ball and cross on top, are from the 1500s. The main part of the crown was made around 1660, and the arches were added around 1770.
This special crown has 450 emeralds! The biggest one is called the "Atahualpa Emerald." Some people believe this emerald once belonged to the Incan Emperor Atahualpa. He was captured in 1532 by a Spanish explorer named Francisco Pizarro. In 1936, the crown was sold to an American businessman. It has been in the United States ever since. Today, the Crown of the Andes is part of the amazing collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
What is the Crown of the Andes?
The Crown of the Andes is about 34 centimeters (13 inches) tall. It weighs about 2.17 kilograms (4.8 pounds). That's almost as much as a bowling ball! It is made from 18 to 22 carat gold. The gold was shaped using special techniques called repoussé and chasing. This means the gold was pushed and hammered from the back to create designs. Then, details were added from the front.
The crown truly shines because of its 450 emeralds. The most famous one is the "Atahualpa Emerald." This rectangular stone is about 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) long and wide.
How Was the Crown Made?
There are different stories about how the Crown of the Andes was made. A popular story says it was created in the 1590s. People in Popayán made it to show thanks after their city was saved from a terrible smallpox outbreak. This disease was making many people sick in the area. The story also says that some of the emeralds came from the Incan Emperor Atahualpa.
However, a jewelry expert named Christopher Hartop studied the crown in 1995. He believes the crown was put together over many years. He thinks the small cross on top is from the 1500s. The bottom part was finished in the 1600s. The arches that cross over the top were added in the 1700s. This means it was a project that took a long time to complete!
The Crown's Journey
For many years, the Crown of the Andes was used in special Holy Week celebrations in Popayán. These are important religious events. In the early 1900s, the group that owned the crown, called the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, asked for permission to sell it. They wanted to use the money for charity.
They received permission in 1914. But it took a long time to find a buyer. Finally, in 1936, an American group led by businessman Warren J. Piper bought it. Piper had said the crown would be broken apart and the jewels sold separately. Luckily, that did not happen!
Instead, the crown was shown in different places over the years. In 1937, General Motors displayed it in Detroit. They used it when they showed off their new Chevrolet cars. A huge number of people, about 225,000, came to see it! That was about 15% of the city's population at the time. The crown was also shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Later, in 1959, it was displayed at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.
The crown was offered for sale again in 1995 but was not sold. After that, it was usually kept in New York. It was displayed in Indianapolis from October 2009 to January 2010. This was part of an exhibition called Sacred Spain: Art and Belief in the Spanish World. In December 2015, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced that they had bought the crown.
The crown was bought and moved legally. However, some people in Colombia believe it should return to Popayán. It was made there from local gold and emeralds. It was also used in religious ceremonies for 300 years. The Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo of Colombia thinks it has the most cultural importance in its original home.
See also
- Colombian emeralds
- Muzo
