Votive crown of King Recceswinth, made of gold, rock crystal, pearls and sapphires, 1938 (colour...

King Recceswinth (reign c.649-672) Visigothic king of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia; votive crowns were not intended to be worn but were gifts to Catholic churches and religious shrines, to be hung above the altar as evidence of the donor's piety and faith; from a collection of 26 votive crowns and crosses of Visigothic goldsmith manufacture, known as the Treasure of Guarrazar, and found near Toledo between 1859 and 1861; from a series of illustrations of famous royal crowns published by the cigarette manufacturer, Godfrey Phillips, to coincide with the public interest in royalty after the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937;