18 carat Gold plated Cross of a Knight of Malta with pearlescent enamel

Description

This cross belonged to Fabricio Spinola of Genoa. He was Captain of the Girona, one of the Galleas of the Spanish Armada, sent to attack Britain in 1588.

A Galleas was a hybrid of oars and sail. The ships were dispersed first by the British fire ships and then by a storm that sent them up the North coast and around Scotland. The Girona stopped on the Irish coast to take on survivors from the 'Duquessa Santa Ana' amounting to 1300 men on a ship designed for 550. The Girona ran aground and sank off Laccado Point. Only 5 men survived. In 1967 the wreck was discovered by Robert Stenuit, a Belgian nautical archaeologist. The cross was damaged when found but remarkably evidence of white enamel survived on one of its points. This cross has been specially enamelled in translucent Pearlescent enamel using the Basse-taille technique. Height 57 mm.