Ornament Room, Seville Cathedral

Old office of accounts, also called room of ornaments, incomes and values ​​of the council, located next to the chapter room. Inside, valuable objects are exposed, such as the San Fernando Banner that is believed to have been carried by the troops of Fernando III of Castilla in 1248 during the conquest of Seville.

The Cathedral preserves approximately nine hundred pieces of silverware that, recently inventoried, are faithful testimony to the wealth of its liturgical trousseau, the jewels commissioned by the council, those paid for by donations from devotees and numerous legacies.

Gothic period
The reliquary triptych, called “Tablas alfonsies” is possibly one of the oldest works in the collection, which entered the Cathedral through the testamentary legacy of Alfonso X and is attributed to the goldsmith Jorge de Toledo, to whom the same monarch commissioned a canopy for the Virgin of the Kings. From the time of the holy king Fernando III are two swords, venerated as relics.

Among the works from the Gothic period, the works donated by Cardinal Gómez Barroso (+1390) stand out, as well as the portapaz of Felipe V of France and Juana de Burgundy made in Paris around 1317 that Cardinal Don Jaime de Palafox y Cardona (1701) left. ).

Renaissance period
The transition from the Gothic period to the Renaissance is magnificently represented by another portapaz that belonged to Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza or by the altar service of Cardinal Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. The reliquary of the “lignum crucis”, called by Constantine, is a delicate Renaissance piece bequeathed by Archbishop Fonseca.

The maintenance of the silver trousseau of the Cathedral was the obligation of the master silversmith, chosen and appointed by the council since, at least, the end of the XV century. The council, apart from the works of these artists, made orders for the liturgical trousseau to the best workshops established in the city. During the Renaissance the boxes of the medieval reliquaries were renewed and, in the mid-sixteenth century, they commissioned Hernando de Ballesteros, the Mozo, other new silver urns, two portapaces for the main altar, four chiselled silver candlesticks, called the « giants ». Works from the same period are the oil jugs, which were used until a few years ago, along with the “tiller ewer” and two jugs made in Antwerp, bought in 1564.

In 1580 the council accepted the model, which is preserved, of Juan de Arfe to carry out the new processional custody, which, concluded in 1587, was considered the best of its kind. Around the same time, the council commissioned other important pieces from silversmith Diego de Vozmediano, Francisco Merino (1586) and Juan de Alfaro, the imposing tabernacle in gilded silver (1593-1596), among other pieces.

Baroque period
The Cathedral preserves a good collection of silver trays from different times and origins, some cruets and a golden chalice bequeathed by Archbishop Delgado Venegas and even a gold ciborium with emeralds, diamonds and rubies still used in Holy Thursday celebrations. In the mid-18th century, Archbishop Vizarrón y Eguiarreta, who had been viceroy of Mexico and formerly canon of Seville, bequeathed an altar service and twelve imposing Mexican silver candlesticks. In 1681, Archbishop Palafox donated the extraordinary reliquary bust of Santa Rosalía, a panoramic work by Antonio L. Castelli, and promoted the creation of the large silver altar that they installed on the main altar during Holy Week and at the choir on the occasion of the festivities. the Corpus, the Immaculate Conception and the carnival triduum,

In 1671, on the occasion of the canonization of Saint Ferdinand, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities saw the need to project an urn for his remains, which today presides over the Royal Chapel, being carried out by Juan Laureano de Pina.

Neoclassicism and the 19th century
The various events that occurred in the reigns of Charles IV and Ferdinand VII led to the seizure of the jewels of the temples to attend to the needs derived from the French occupation. In response to these superior orders, the Cabildo had to deliver in payment numerous works among which was the custody of gold carved in 1752-1791. Then, the immediate invasion, made it necessary to transfer all the silver to the Customs of Cádiz, where it remained for three years. In 1815, when the Treasury and trousseau returned, the continuous payments demanded had melted almost half of the silver altar along with a significant part of the candlestick, trousseau pieces and reliquaries of the temple.

Seville cathedral treasure
The treasure of the cathedral of Seville is considered one of the best preserved artistic treasures in the ecclesiastical environment of Spain. Its funds are comparable to those collected in the National Library and El Escorial.

It is composed of pieces of all sizes and materials (gold, silver, pearl, rhinestones, velvet, etc.), among them are sacred vessels, reliquaries, custodians, processional crosses, books, choir books (approximately 300), ornaments and dresses for the liturgy (approximately 2000) in addition to all works of art (approximately 550 paintings dated between the 15th and 20th centuries, signed by Pedro de Campaña, Francisco Pacheco, Francisco Herrera, Zurbarán, Murillo, Valdés Leal, Matías de Arteaga, among others), sculptures (exterior and interior, some sepulchral in marble, wood or alabaster) and altarpieces (dated between the XV and XVIII centuries), etc., distributed among the different chapels of which the Cathedral is composed.

Of the treasure, the elements that are related to the conquest of the city by King San Fernando stand out, such as his sword, the banner and other relics, as well as the keys to the city. The Alphonse tables are also preserved, made by King Alfonso X the Wise.

Other pieces correspond to dates after the discovery of America and linked to this new world, such as a paten (used in the first mass celebrated in Mexico), the silver vizarrones (huge candelabra that hold candles).

Among the large items, a bronze candelabra (Tenebrario) stands over seven meters high and the Custody of Corpus Christi, made of silver, dating from the 16th century.

Most of the pieces are exposed in the room known as the “House of Accounts” of the cathedral, although another good part is found in the “Sacristía Mayor” and in the “Sacristía de los Cálices”. However, other pieces of it are found in other spaces of the temple, such as the ” Royal Chapel ” and the “Greater Chapel”.

Seville Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See is located in Seville. It is Gothic in style. It is the largest cathedral in the world. The Unesco declared in 1987, with the Real Alcázar and the Archivo de Indias, Heritage and, on July 25, 2010, Good of outstanding universal value. According to tradition, the construction began in 1401, although there is no documentary evidence of the beginning of the works until 1433. The construction was carried out on the site that was left after the demolition of the old aljama mosque in Seville, whose minaret (La Giralda) and patio (patio de los Naranjos) are still preserved.

One of the first masters of works was Master Carlin (Charles Galter), from Normandy (France), who had previously worked in other great European Gothic cathedrals and arrived in Spain believed to be fleeing the Hundred Years War. On October 10, 1506, the last stone was placed in the highest part of the dome, with which symbolically the cathedral was completed, although in fact work continued uninterruptedly throughout the centuries, both for the interior decoration, such as to add new rooms or to consolidate and restore the damage caused by the passage of time, or extraordinary circumstances, among which it is worth noting the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that produced only minor damage despite its intensity. The architects Diego de Riaño, Martín de Gainza and Asensio de Maeda intervened in these works. Also at this stageHernán Ruiz built the last body of the Giralda. The cathedral and its outbuildings were completed in 1593.

The Metropolitan Cabildo maintains the daily liturgy and the celebration of the Corpus, Immaculate and Virgin of the Kings festivities. This last day, August 15, is also the titular festival of the temple, Santa María de la Asunción or de la Sede, and is celebrated with a solemn third and pontifical procession.

The temple houses the mortal remains of Christopher Columbus and several kings of Castile: Pedro I el Cruel, Fernando III el Santo and his son, Alfonso X el Sabio.

One of the last important works carried out took place in 2008 and consisted of replacing 576 ashlars that made up one of the great pillars that support the temple, with new stone blocks of similar characteristics but with much greater resistance. This difficult work was possible thanks to the use of innovative technological systems that showed that the building suffered oscillations of 2 cm daily as a consequence of the expansion of its materials.