November, 2019

Olden Wood

I like old wood when it has aged in a dry environment. It takes on a deep mellow patina. Can you see it in this 18th century Spanish Colonial chest? It’s just 9” long and 4” high.

Perhaps at one time its purpose was to provide a travelling home for some special religious object, like the 7 1/4th inch bulto below. An old tag on the back identifies it.

Circa 1810 carried by Don Pedro Don Baptista Pino who was the only delegate from the New World to the courts of Spain. He was trying to acquire money for teachers and priests. The statue was carried with him at all times.

Today, the old chest serves a useful purpose for me. It provides a home for 880-dollar coins. The value of the chest and the coins is about $3,500.

I’m trying to figure out what to do with it. Ideally, I would hide it somewhere in the New Mexico Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe, but nearer than 8.25 miles from town. Then invite kids 16 years old and younger to go search for it. It can’t be out in the weather. What would you do with it?

Here are a few of my old Spanish Colonial wooden crosses. f