So-called Burial Cross

ca. 1400

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 processional cross came to be known as the Burial Cross because it was long used during funeral services. The engraving shows an agonized Christ, a representation known as the Crucifixus Dolorosus, a common motif in the fourteenth century, intended to emphasize Christ’s humanity. The knotted wooden cross from which he hangs likens the crucifix to the Tree of Life, expressing Christ’s triumph over death, appropriate to the cross’s funerary function.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: So-called Burial Cross
Date: ca. 1400
Culture: German (Hildesheim (?))
Medium: Gilded copper; wood core
Dimensions: Overall: 13 3/16 x 9 1/4 in. (33.5 x 23.5 cm); Height pin: 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Copper alloy
Credit Line: Dom-Museum HIldesheim (DS 90)
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters