Colonial art heritage
The Holy Burial and the silver frontal to the high altar in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception are two extraordinary gems of Campeche’s cultural, historical and religious heritage. Both pieces were made by local artisans in the 18th century, and are housed in the interior of the Cathedral church.
The Holy Burial in Campeche Cathedral is an exceptional work of 18th-century religious art, “the most valuable Colonial-era object in the city,” in the opinion of the historian Raúl Rivero Canto. It consists of a catafalque decorated with embossed silver, which holds a sculpture of a recumbent Christ. This type of image is not exclusive to America, but they were produced much more frequently here.
According to Leticia Jiménez and Diana Arano, the INAH experts in charge of restoration in 2013, we do not know the exact date of manufacture. The oldest mention of it appears in a document in the parish files dating to 1768.
The experts believe that this lack of information regarding the origin of the piece may be due to years of pillaging in the Cathedral archives, so the only thing certain is that it was in place before the parish church was raised to the rank of Cathedral by the Bull of Pope Leo XIII, issued on the 24th March 1895.
For many years it was believed that this masterpiece of Plateresque carving, over 300 years old, must have been imported from Spain or Guatemala, the theory being that Yucatan had produced no colonial art of its own for lack of trained workmen. However, the Holy Burial is one of many artworks that discredit that idea. We now know that the piece was created by artisans from Campeche, who left evidence of their knowledge of boat-building preserved in its joints.
A document discovered in 2003, and subsequently used to form a triptych by the Pro-Cathedral Foundation, asserts that “from the use of cedar and mahogany wood, which are trees native to the region, and from the fact that the interior structure was put together in the same way as boats were built in the shipyards of Campeche, we can state that this artwork was made here in the City and Port of Campeche”.
The sculptural set comprises two main pieces: the catafalque, and the body of Christ.
The base of the catafalque is a rectangular frame of carved wood, with a layer of black paint onto which applications of embossed silver leaf were added. Above is a sort of pavilion with mouldings, and a pallet on which the body of Christ lies.
On the sides of the central section are four panes of glass, creating a transparent box. At the corners, and in the center of the long sides, there are Atlantid angels holding up the next level. So, on the longer sides, three angels are visible (one at each corner and one in the middle) separated by two lamps equidistant between each pair, while on the shorter ends, only two angels are visible (one at each corner) with one lamp between them.
The next level of the catafalque is a carved, pyramidal structure, with a layer of black paint onto which applications of embossed silver were added, held up by the aforementioned angels. It has a series of pedestal lamps alternating with thrones – winged faces – around it. The upper part supports eight little angels equally spaced around the third level (a rectangular section with a monogram of Christ), also carved in black-colored wood and decorated with embossed silver leaf. To either side of the monogram are two angels.
Unfortunately, we lack information regarding the silverwork. We do not know the origin, or the specific guild or workshop that carried out the embossing on the piece.
The body of Christ lies in repose. His bearded face is framed by long, brown, wavy hair. His nose is short and narrow, his eyes closed. His arms lie by his sides, and his legs are slightly separated and raised at the knee. He wears a thin white apron, and above the image is a white veil that covers the whole body like a shroud.
The monumental piece also includes an ochre yellow standard bearing twenty-eight silver coins in four rows, believed to represent the bag with thirty pieces of silver paid to Judas. The materials in the textile place it in the 19th century, while the silver coins are from the 18th and 19th.
The cult of the Holy Burial in Campeche is as old as the city itself, and has survived being passed down through the centuries from one generation to the next. Year after year, on Good Friday, the sacred image is carried by the faithful in a crowded procession through the main streets of the city, as a fervent commemoration of the Passion and Death of Christ.
The beautiful silver frontal to the high altar in the Cathedral comes from the colonial church of St. James the Apostle in Halachó, a small village in Yucatan lying just over the border from Campeche.
The archaeologist Luis Millet Cámara mentions that, in 1848, the government of Yucatan ordered that all the precious objects from churches throughout the Peninsula be collected to be sold in the United States and Cuba, in order to raise funds to combat the rebels in the Caste War, which had broken out the year before. The magnificent frontal was on the point of being shipped to the United States, but a group of Campeche residents bought and rescued it. They then promptly donated it to the parish church of the Immaculate Conception, which some years later would be raised to the status of Cathedral.
Despite the lack of mines yielding precious metals, silverwork flourished in the Peninsula from the 16th century onwards, and artisans and local smiths created many pieces for religious use, such as frontals, cases, monstrances and chalices. However, the Cathedral and the church of St. Roman in the state capital are among the few which were able to preserve a variety of pieces from this lost heritage.
The Holy Burial is displayed in the Museum of Sacred Art, annexed to Campeche Cathedral. The silver frontal covers the high altar in the Cathedral.
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