Collection

Coat of Arms of the Gómez de Cervantes y Altamirano de Velasco Family

Mexican

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

Even the wealthiest families in colonial Spanish America were compelled to legitimize their place within the imperial system. Elite individuals could obtain titles directly from the crown after proving noble lineage and so-called limpieza de sangre (“purity of blood”), which in Spain excluded people of Jewish and Moorish heritage. Such titles were proudly displayed through coats of arms on portraits, dinner services, coaches, and town-house facades. The commission of this painted, full-scale coat of arms in about 1816—with the central, round Cervantes escutcheon uniting the family's many titles—may have made it unnecessary to include heraldry in contemporary family portraits, which would have hung nearby in the salón del dosel.

Caption

Mexican. Coat of Arms of the Gómez de Cervantes y Altamirano de Velasco Family, ca. 1802. Oil on canvas, 37 1/8 x 28 3/4in. (94.3 x 73cm) frame: 42 x 34 x 1 3/4 in. (106.7 x 86.4 x 4.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund and Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 52.166.18. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Artist

Mexican

Title

Coat of Arms of the Gómez de Cervantes y Altamirano de Velasco Family

Date

ca. 1802

Geography

Place made: Mexico

Medium

Oil on canvas

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

37 1/8 x 28 3/4in. (94.3 x 73cm) frame: 42 x 34 x 1 3/4 in. (106.7 x 86.4 x 4.4 cm)

Inscriptions

Inscribed center: "EXANTI/QUIS." Inscribed lower left quadrant: "AVE MARIA/GRACIA PLENA."

Credit Line

Museum Collection Fund and Dick S. Ramsay Fund

Accession Number

52.166.18

Frequent Art Questions

  • Can you tell me about this please?

    Absolutely! That is the coat-of-arms of two colonial Spanish American families that were joining together: the Gómez de Cervantes and the Altamirano de Velascos. It would have hung in the family's formal reception room, along with portraits.
    This was made in Mexico and commissioned around 1802. The emphasis on heraldry and titles shows that the family was very interested in establishing themselves among the elite in the colony and demonstrating their European allegiance.

  • How old is this crest? Who did it belong to?

    That painting dates to around 1802. The combined crest represents the Gomez de Cervantes and Altamirano de Velasco families. It was commissioned to commemorate the marriage that joined the two.

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

Artists and makers

Mexican

18 works in the collection