HISPANO-COLONIAL CASE FROM THE 18th CENTURYЀCLE Alto Peru (Bolivia in the 18th century) Made of palm wood, inlaid with ivory and palm nuts, the silver frame decorated on all sides with birds and floral foliage, the lid decorated with the monogram IHS for "Jesus Hominem Salvator", revealing an interior lined with green velvet, the sides fitted with handles, the feet ending in scrolls; small accidents H. 21 cm (8 ¼ in.) l. 44 cm (17 ¼ in.) P. 30 cm (11 ¾ in.) Gross weight: 3 Kg 700 An 18th century Spanish-colonial silver-mounted, palm tree and vegetal ivory inlaid casket, Alto Peru (Bolivia 18th century) This rare casket is a poignant testament to the skills of goldsmiths in the Andean region in the 18th century; the influence of European rococo on local production can be seen in a number of features specific to the region and the period. The monogram IHS found on the lid of our box gives us important information about these probable patrons; IHS stands for "Jesus Hominem Salvator" or "Jesus the Saviour of Men", while the central bar of the letter H, transformed into a cross and surmounting a heart pierced by three nails, represents the coat of arms of the Jesuit Company, which was very active in Latin America throughout the 18th century. Bird motifs play an important role in Andean silverware: they are depicted alone or pecking at grapes. They also have a deeper meaning, as part of the symbolic system put in place during the evangelisation of the Andean populations. For example, when they are shown feeding with their beaks open, like some of the birds in our box (see image below), they refer to the symbol of the Eucharist. A bird stylistically similar to the one that adorns the keyhole of our example can be found on a pair of silver plates (see Fig. 1) from the former collection of Nelly Arietta de Blaquier and Carlos Pedro Blaquier, in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, New York (see E. Martin, Acculturation and Innovation in Peruvian Viceregal Silverwork, 2004, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p.68 fig. 73). Certain motifs allow us to put forward a hypothesis as to the possible centre of production. The shape of the legs of our box, reminiscent of a stylised butterfly (see image below), is a free adaptation of European rocaille and is traditionally associated with the town of Cerro Rico, in the Potosí region of Alto Peru, famous for its rich silver deposits. Today, the Alto Peru region corresponds to present-day Bolivia. This motif can be seen, for example, in the border of a silver mirror (see Fig. 2) from the collections of the Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano de Isaac Fernández Blanco in Buenos Aires. A silver plate with a similar design of stylised birds and shells, also with the IHS monogram in the centre, sold at Christie's New York on 18 November 2010, lot 155 (see Fig. 3).