An important Spanish carved, gilt, and polychrome decorated composite 'Navascués y Orobio' coat of arms surmounted by a helmet, 17th C.

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An important Spanish carved, gilt, and polychrome decorated composite 'Navascués y Orobio' coat of arms surmounted by a helmet, 17th C. H 127 - L 85 - D 17 cm Within the hierarchy of the Spanish Empire -and specifically the Kingdom of Navarre -the Navascués y Orobio family held a highly prominent position. They did not belong to the rural minor nobility but rather constituted the absolute administrative, military, and economic elite of the provincial aristocracy. Their position was characterized by: (a) Descent from 'Ricoshombres': As one of Navarre's oldest families of ancient nobility, they originally held the status of 'Ricoshombres', which entitled them to support the sovereign with their own privately maintained army. (b) Strict proofs of lineage ('Limpieza de Sangre'): Admission to prestigious military orders of knighthood required an impeccable family tree tracing back four generations, free of Jewish or Moorish blood and entirely devoid of manual labor or involvement in trade. (c) Royal Right of Asylum (1706): The family's status was so elevated that the first Bourbon king, Philip V, stayed at their palace (the 'Casa de las Cadenas') and granted the house the right of asylum; this effectively turned the palace into sovereign territory where the police were prohibited from making arrests. The shield is divided into eight specific quarters reflecting the genealogical alliance and royal favours received: (1) Top left - golden patriarchal cross on blue: the ancestral coat of arms of the Navascués family (2) & (4) Top - golden castles on red: traditional element of the Navascués coat of arms, referring to Navarrese strongholds (3) Upper centre - Red, fleur-de-lis style Cross of Calatrava: evidence of the progenitor's admission into the elite Order of Calatrava, of which the Spanish king was the Grand Master (6) Bottom - Three black cauldrons (calderas) on silver: heraldic symbol of immense wealth and hospitality; the ability to provision one's own army (7) Bottom - Black wolf on red: union with the allied branch by marriage (Basque-Navarrese Orobio dynasty) (8) Bottom right - Rooted tree on gold: symbol of steadfastness and local land ownership (Orobio /Salazar / Beaumont) The basis of this heraldry is rooted in a handwritten, richly illustrated patent of nobility ('Carta Ejecutoria de Hidalguía') issued during the heyday of the Spanish Empire, under the reign of King Philip II or Philip III. The accompanying large, polychrome and gilt decorated coat-of-arms plaque is a High Baroque physical rendering of this document, most probably crafted around 1673 to mark the establishment of the family's second entailed estate ('mayorazgo').

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