|
Date : approx. between 1000 and 1050
Material : Gilded silver, Silver
Acquisition : Rogers Fund (1993)
| Item 57 on 80
Objet(s) d'Art
Object of worship
Vitrine : V04 (Ref. 2730)
Area related
Byzance
| |  | |
| Description |  |
Elaborately decorated crosses were widely used in religious, military and imperial processions during the Byzantine era. Often, as here, inscriptions in Greek identify the holy figures depicted in portrait busts.
On the front of this cross, the central medallion contains a bust of Christ. The archangels Michael and Gabriel, the guardians of the heaven, are pictured above and below him. To left and right are the traditional intercessors on behalf the mankind, the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.
The inscription at the base on the back of the cross identifies it as a votive gift of a Bishop Leo. It was probably offered in honor of Saint Thaleliaos, a physician, who is shown in the back central medallion with the symbols of his profession. To the sides are Saint Nicholas and Saint Chrysostom, two of the most important Church fathers. The archangels Uriel and Raphael appear at the top and the bottom.
| More pictures | |
| Item(s) related | |
| Related article(s) | |
|
