"Consolación" Shipwreck iron Mule Shoe ND (ca. 1500-1600s), 130mm x 100mm. 140.89gm. Accompanied by COA #2023205. Salvaged from the "Consolación" (sunk in 1681 off Santa Clara, Ecuador). A fascinating artifact that stems from 17th-century agricultural practices to shield the mule's hooves from damage - a protective tool that is still used today. The Consolación, also known as the Isla de Muerto shipwreck, was intended to be a part of the Spanish "South Seas Fleet" that left Lima's port of Callao in April of 1681. However, the Consolación was delayed and was forced to travel without the support of a fleet. Near modern-day Ecuador, at the Gulf of Guayaquil, English pirates would cause the vessel to collide with reefs and sink off Santa Clara Island. This island is nicknamed ‘Isla El Muerto', or Dead Man Island, as the topography resembles a corpse. The Spanish crew would then burn the ship as to not give its resources to the pursuing pirates as the crew escaped to a nearby island. The attempts to recover the treasure would prove unsuccessful until vast amounts of silver coins were uncovered in the 1990s. Salvaging continued between locals and the government of Ecuador, eventually bringing 8,000 Potosí silver cobs to an auction titled "Treasures from the ‘Isla de Muerto'" by Spink New York in December of 2001. It is believed that many more coins and artifacts are waiting to be discovered as the official manifest of the Consolación recorded 146,000 pesos in silver coins with gold and silver ingots – not to mention the value in undocumented contraband. HID09801242017 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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