In August of 1858, a remarkable cache of early medieval gold crowns and crosses was discovered in Huertas de Guarrazar near Toledo. The fragments were immediately reassembled, found their way into private hands, and within just a few months most were sold to the French government. The acquisition was announced in Le Monde illustré on 12 February 1859 along with a brief description and illustration, and published more fully by Ferdinand de Lasteyrie in 1860 with a series of detailed colour engravings. The frontispiece of the publication featured this sumptuous ensemble and centred on the largest and most ornate of the crowns, that of the seventhcentury Visigothic king Recceswinth (r. 653–672), whose name is spelled out in Latin letters dangling from its lower edge. (See Figure 5.1.)

Meanwhile in Spain, diplomatic efforts were underway to repatriate the works. Since the initial announcement of the French acquisition, the Spanish government made valiant efforts to nullify the sale and have the pieces returned. In addition, excavations were carried out at the original site of the discovery. Led by José Amador de los Ríos, four further crowns were unearthed, including one naming another Visigothic king, Swinthila (r. 621–631), which was later stolen and has never been recovered. (See Figure 5.4.) In 1940 leaders of Spain and France ‘agreed to an exchange of national treasures’. Along with a Murillo painting of the Inmaculada (1678), the ancient Iberian sculpture known as La Dama de Elche, and archives from Salamanca, most, but not all, of the pieces of the Visigothic treasure were returned to Spain.