It was the year 1700 when the Jesuits of Santa Fe de Bogotá ordered the Spanish-born goldsmith José de Galaz a new and pompous monstrance for his church of San Ignacio. The artisan took seven years to complete one of the most beautiful and important works in Colombia , “La Lechuga”, which, luckily, has arrived intact and in its maximum fullness to this day.
But first of all … what exactly is a custody? Its name comes from the Latin ostentare, which means “to show”, and in the Catholic rite it is the piece of precious metal (usually gold) where the host is placed once consecrated so that the faithful can worship it. They are normally shaped like the Sun and the central place is precisely the one used to place the host.
The case of “La Lechuga” was not going to be different. The piece contains about five kilos of gold, a sapphire, a topaz, 28 diamonds , 62 pearls, 13 rubies, 168 uncut amethysts and another four carved, in addition to 1,485 green emeralds that give it that lettuce color and thanks to which it is it has earned its curious nickname.
In the upper part there is a sun decorated with 22 major undulating rays that end in small suns finished with emeralds and with another 20 minor rays finished in pearls. Above the sun is a cross with emeralds surrounded by the symbols of Christ and the Eucharist: small bunches of grapes and vine leaves. The great sun is supported by an angel with outstretched wings and arms up. Finally, in the lower area, under some baroque knots, we find a base decorated with acanthus, vine and grape leaves, as well as some zoomorphic figures and some cherubs.
Currently no one doubts its historical value , but many years ago, during the independence processes, many works of this type were founded to subsidize wars. Thanks to the protection of the priests of the Society of Jesus, the custody overcame the problems posed by the order of Carlos III in 1767 to expel the Jesuits, a second expulsion ordered by José Hilario López in 1850 and a third dictated by Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera in 1861. In fact, La Lechuga did not return to his native Bogotá until the late 19th century, when the confiscated assets were returned to the Jesuits.
In 1985, and after the Society of Jesus requested permission from the Holy See, it was acquired by the Bank of the Republic of Colombia and since then it belongs to the Bank’s Art Collection, and can be admired in the Art Museum of the Bank of the Republic. in Bogota .
The work is not only considered one of the richest and most beautiful religious jewels in all of Latin America, but it is a perfect example of the work of goldsmiths in a territory still unexplored but full of gold and emeralds.
Its current importance is unquestionable and the first time the work of Colombia came out was in 2015, when it was exhibited at the Prado Museum for three months on the occasion of the presence of Colombia at the ARCO Contemporary Art Fair. In fact, in 2015 it has been the protagonist and the banner of the RutaBBVA, the initiative started 30 years ago by the adventurous journalist Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo who created this program focused on young people to consolidate the cultural exchange between all the speaking countries. Hispanic .
