The Crown of Our Lady of the Assumption of Popayán, known as the Crown of the Andes (in Spanish as La Corona de los Andes and as La Corona de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Popayán), is a votive crown originally made for a larger-than-life sized statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral of Popayán, Colombia. The oldest parts of the crown are the orb and cross at the top, which date to the 16th century. The diadem was made around 1660, and the arches were added around 1770.[1] The crown is adorned with 450 emeralds, the largest of which is the "Atahualpa Emerald"; this might have belonged to Incan Emperor Atahualpa (1497–1533) and been seized from him when he was captured in 1532 by Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador.[2][3] In 1936, the crown was sold by its owners to an American businessman and it has remained in the United States ever since. As of December 2015, the crown belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.[4]
- ^ "Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, known as the Crown of the Andes". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ Jewel: A Celebration of Earth's Treasures. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. 2016. p. 231. ISBN 9780241296394.
- ^ Frank W. Thackeray; John E. Findling (2012). Events That Formed the Modern World. ABC-CLIO. p. 236. ISBN 9781598849011.
- ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art website