1770 SPANISH MANUSCRIPT EXECUTORIA, WITH THREE EXQUISITE FULL-PAGE ILLUMINATED PAINTINGS, IN SPLENDID VELVET BINDING
MARIN, Juan Antonio. Executoria de Hidalguia en Forma. Arroyo el Puerco: September 18, 1770. Thick folio, contemporary full rose velvet over wooden boards, ornate silver clasps and catches, French patterned endpapers, all edges gilded and gauffered. $17,500.
Exquisitely illustrated manuscript on vellum, containing genealogical evidence of Spanish nobility and a census of individuals connected to Don Juan Antonio Marin of Arroyo el Puerco. In contemporary velvet binding.
Persons who possess the legal status of nobility in a given kingdom may have obtained their status by inheritance, or by providing genealogical proof of noble lineage. This is a charter of enforceability of nobility, called "executoria" or "letters of nobility effect," proving the legal position of Don Juan Antonio Marin of the town of Arroyo el Puerco in the Spanish nobility. Maintaining the list of noblemen in a particular area was a task of town councils, who required a census of noble families in their respective localities for fiscal, legal and social reasons. Many of these listings, however, were based solely on such external evidence as a family's armorial bearings, manor of residence, patronage of chapels, and membership in certain noble brotherhoods. The variety and fallibility of the criteria used to determine the number of individuals belonging to a privileged class were the cause of many disputes. This wonderful manuscript executoria contains detailed documentation of individuals connected to Juan Antonio Marin, residing in Arroyo el Puerco (now Arroyo de la Luz, a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain), who are entitled to the privileges of nobility. At the front of this manuscript are three magnificent full-page paintings on vellum: an image of the Virgin Mary (the town's patron saint was of the Virgin of Light), a portrait of Carlos III, and the arms of Marin.
Manuscript fine, rubbing to bottom edges of velvet binding. A wonderful specimen of proof of nobility.