A Rare Bronze Mission Bell From 1609.

Thick cast bronze with blackish brown patina and verdigris, wrought iron clapper. Flaring bell with thick angular brackets above. Decorated with bands of moulding and a large Cross applique on three steps flanked on either side by oval plaques with arms crowned by a mitre and crozier. The outer surface with three further coats-of-arms in round plaques and large plaques dated "1609" below the shoulder. The fluted band around the shoulders worn/polished (possibly from a former mounting). Weight c. 32.5 kg. Spain / Iberian Peninsula.

Nothing is known about the history of this interesting early bronze bell, but there are comparable objects in the Museo de la Campana, Colección Abel Portilla, in San Mamés de Meruelo, from which we can conclude that the bell was produced in Spain.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Kingdom of Spain, ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs, encompassed large parts of Italy, France and the Netherlands, and through Spanish colonisation also South America, parts of Africa and Asia, including the Spanish East Indies. After the end of the Spanish-Portuguese Reconquista and the capture of Granada in 1492 by Isabella I of Castile (1451 - 1504) and Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452 - 1516), the focus shifted to the Christianisation of the reconquered territories, but also those conquered overseas. Against this background, the four-part escutcheon with the combination of the star of Lakshmi and fleur de lys under the mitre and crozier could indicate that the bell was intended for an Indian mission.