A photo of the crucified Christ (Corpus Christi) a few minutes after its discovery at the Mullion Pin Wreck, in the shingle and rock below the cascable of the cannon in the background (photo: David Gibbins).

I discovered this copper-alloy figure of the crucified Christ (Corpus Christi) in 2019 on the Mullion Pin Wreck, a mid-17th century merchantman off Cornwall so-named for the abundance of brass clothing pins found at the site. The wreck has been identified as the Santo Christo de Castello, a Genoese-owned ship built in Amsterdam and wrecked on her maiden voyage in 1667. She was carrying a rich cargo of cloth, spices, lead ingots and other material, including a consignment of brass scrap made up of damaged and broken items up to two centuries older than the wreck. The site was discovered in 1969 and partly excavated over several seasons in the 1970s (McBride et al. 1972, 1974, 1975); this blog is one of several arising from renewed excavations carried out since 2018 under my direction (see also Gibbins 2019a and 2019b).

This figure is a unique find on a wreck and one of our most important discoveries. Its surviving height is 7.8 cm and width across the arms 5.3 cm; originally it was about 12-14 cm high. The arms and legs appear to have been deliberately sheared off, with the right arm bent perhaps in the process. Despite being eroded by more than 350 years underwater – the figure was discovered loose in shingle – it is still possible to see the quality of the afterwork in the chiselling of the hair and the drapery, as well as the excellence of the anatomical study in the musculature and emaciation of the torso, the facial features – executed according to the precepts of the Counter-Reformation, showing Christ without pain or suffering – and the wound on the right side of the chest where the spear was thrust in after death, following the account in the Gospels.

The figure was created after a larger original of circa 1569-77 by the Italian artist Guglielmo della Porta (died 1577), who drew inspiration from Michelangelo’s Christ the Redeemer of 1519-20 (Coppel 2012a, b; Avery 2012; Gramberg 1981; Middledorf 1977). Guglielmo was greatly influenced by Michelangelo’s anatomical studies as well as by the art of classical antiquity, both of which can be seen in this figure. He was drawn in his later years to creating figures of Christ in this manner as a result of the religious iconography dictated by the Council of Trent (1545-63), which set out the terms of the Counter-Reformation. Their edicts emphasized private devotion and personal communion, resulting in an interest in small portable figures of Christ such as ours. The idealised, athletic body, the torsion of the figure and the lay of the loincloth is closely matched by several larger figures attributed to Guglielmo, including the one illustrated below in the Convent of Porta Coeli in Valladolid, Spain. These figures, mostly in the 35-40 cm range, would have been the models from which the workshops created smaller copies. Whether our figure was made in the Italian workshops of Guglielmo himself during his lifetime, or in those of his pupils such as Gentili or Giambologna – or elsewhere, for example in the Netherlands of Germany – is unknown, but it is most likely to date from the final quarter of the 16th century. Few of these figures have survived and ours is the only one known to have been discovered archaeologically, as well as being one of the more important works of art of this period to have been found in a shipwreck.

An interim report on our investigations at the Mullion Pin Wreck in 2018-19 is currently in preparation. For the latest jresearch follow www.facebook.com/CornwallMaritimeArchaeology. Two other blogs on artefacts from the site are Gibbins 2019a and 2019b.

References

Copper-alloy Crucified Christ (Corpus Christi) attributed to Guglielmo della Porta in the Convento de Porta Coeli, Valladolid, Spain, showing the cross and Crown of Thorns that may originally have formed part of the Mullion Pin Wreck figure as well … — Copper-alloy Crucified Christ (Corpus Christi) attributed to Guglielmo della Porta in the Convento de Porta Coeli, Valladolid, Spain, showing the cross and Crown of Thorns that may originally have formed part of the Mullion Pin Wreck figure as well (reproduced from Coppel, R., 2012b. Christ crucified. In *Guglielmo della Porta: A Counter-Reformation Sculptor*. Madrid, Coll & Cortés Fine Art, p. 70).

Avery, C., 2012. Christ crucified. In Guglielmo della Porta: A Counter-Reformation Sculptor. Madrid, Coll & Cortés Fine Art, 126-7.

Coppel, R., 2012a. Preface. In Guglielmo della Porta: A Counter-Reformation Sculptor. Madrid, Coll & Cortés Fine Art, 10-11.

Coppel, R., 2012b. Christ crucified. In Guglielmo della Porta: A Counter-Reformation Sculptor. Madrid, Coll & Cortés Fine Art, 62-73.

Gibbins, David, 2019a. A two-pound Amsterdam blokgewicht (block weight) from the Mullion Pin Wreck (1667), off Cornwall, England. http://davidgibbins.com/journal/2019/10/14/a-two-pound-amsterdam-blokgewicht-block-weight-from-the-mullion-pin-wreck-a-mid-17th-century-merchantman-off-cornwall-england

Gibbins, David, 2019b, three more marked merchants’ weights from the Mullion Pin Wreck (1667), off Cornwall, England. http://davidgibbins.com/journal/2019/10/29/three-more-marked-merchants-weights-from-the-mullion-pin-wreck-1667-cornwall-england

Gramberg, W., 1981. Notizien zu den Kruzifixen des Guglielmo della Porta under zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Hochaltarkreuzes in S. Pietro in Vaticano. Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 32, 1981: 95-113

McBride, P., Larn, R. and Davis, R., 1972. A mid-17th century merchant ship found near Mullion Cove, Cornwall. An interim report. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 1.1: 135-42

McBride, P., Larn, R. and Davis, R., 1974. A mid-17th century merchant ship found near Mullion Cove, Cornwall. Second interim report. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3.1: 67-79

McBride, P., Larn, R. and Davis, R., 1975. A mid-17th century merchant ship found near Mullion Cove: 3rd interim report on the Santo Christo de Castello, 1667. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 4.2: 237-52

Middledorf, U., 1977. In the wake of Guglielmo della Porta. The Connoisseur 194, 780: 82-4.