St James the Greater thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

St James the Greater

Badge
ca. 1600-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Semi-precious materials such as this often associated with a particular geographical region and highly valued because of their rarity. Many of the religious objects were portable, as were the small portraits. They were often made near to the source of the material and then taken elsewhere. St James the Greater (Santiago) was the patron saint of Spain. His shrine at Santiago de Compostela was the goal of many pilgrims, hence he is shown wearing a pilgrim’s hat and carrying a staff.
The prime function of jets seems to have been to signify that pilgrims had completed their journeys, and reached the shrine of St James at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which pilgrims did over the course of six hundred years, from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Many seem to have formed beads of rosaries. In structure jet is a particularly dense type of coal, and can be carved and polished. Medicinal and indeed magical qualities were thought to be inherent in the substance from earliest times. Jet is found in different parts of Europe (as well as North America), but the two richest regions are the Asturias in northern Spain, and Whitby, Yorkshire, in North East England.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt James the Greater (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Jet with silver mounts
Brief description
Badge, perhaps pilgrim's badge, jet with silver mounts, St James the Greater, Spanish (Santiago de Compostella), ca. 1600-1700
Physical description
A half-length figure of St. James is shown bearded, wearing a hat adorned with a shell, and holding a book (the Gospels) and a gourd in his left hand, and a staff in his right. The mounts of this piece include a metal loop at the back, probably so that it could be secured as a badge to a cap.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.7cm
  • Width: 3.4cm
Credit line
Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA
Object history
Given by Dr. W. L. Hildburgh, F. S. A., 1953.
Historical context
Probably to secure the piece as a badge at a cap.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Semi-precious materials such as this often associated with a particular geographical region and highly valued because of their rarity. Many of the religious objects were portable, as were the small portraits. They were often made near to the source of the material and then taken elsewhere. St James the Greater (Santiago) was the patron saint of Spain. His shrine at Santiago de Compostela was the goal of many pilgrims, hence he is shown wearing a pilgrim’s hat and carrying a staff.
The prime function of jets seems to have been to signify that pilgrims had completed their journeys, and reached the shrine of St James at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which pilgrims did over the course of six hundred years, from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Many seem to have formed beads of rosaries. In structure jet is a particularly dense type of coal, and can be carved and polished. Medicinal and indeed magical qualities were thought to be inherent in the substance from earliest times. Jet is found in different parts of Europe (as well as North America), but the two richest regions are the Asturias in northern Spain, and Whitby, Yorkshire, in North East England.
Bibliographic references
  • Trusted, Marjorie. Spanish sculpture : catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terracotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996, pp.144, cat. no. 71.
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 143, pl. 264
  • Santiago de Compostela : 1000 ans de pèlerinage Européen ; Europalia 85 España, Bruxelles : Crédit Communal, 1985 232
Collection
Accession number
A.16-1953

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2004
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