Reliquary Cross

13th century

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This cross is an encolpion—a work made to hold relics and to be worn, hung from a chain, on the chest. It opens like a locket and is richly decorated and inscribed inside and out. On its face Christ on the cross is flanked by the Virgin and Saint John. (The inside and back are shown in the photos here.) As the inscriptions are primarily in Slavonic, the cross has been attributed to Russia, though paleographic study has called that into question.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Reliquary Cross
Date: 13th century
Culture: Byzantine or Russian
Medium: Silver with traces of gilding, niello, granulated hinge, and a pearl
Dimensions: Overall: 5 1/2 x 4 x 11/16 in. (14 x 10.2 x 1.7 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Silver
Credit Line: Dom-Museum HIldesheim (DS 3)
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters