This cross was created in the province of Tigray, near the Red Sea, the birthplace of Ethiopia's earliest kingdom and of Christianity in Africa. Works in wood are especially rare within the relatively small corpus of Ethiopian Christian art that predates the seventeenth century. Most Ethiopian processional crosses that have survived from before the seventeenth century are cast in bronze or silver.

Underlying this exceptional object's aesthetic is a technically accomplished fusion of wood sculpture and metalwork inspired by Byzantine and Islamic design. The highly unusual interplay of materials affords rich tonal contrasts and skillfully integrates the solidity of the carved wooden structure with the finely inscribed inlays. The linear accent of the metallic threads at once lightens the density of the massive wooden template and highlights the work's formal design.

In the Ethiopian church the wooden cross is perceived as having been sanctified by Christ's blood, which conferred upon it infinite power to heal and to bless. Foliate and organic interlace designs, as seen here, visually reinforce this idea of the cross as a life-giving force. Commissioned by Ethiopian royalty, such works were presented to important monasteries to be carried in liturgical processions.