Processional Cross
Click to enlarge image
Byzantine, first half of the 11th century
Silver and silver gilt
23 5/8 x 17 3/4 in. (60 x 45 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y. (1993.163)
This large silver processional cross is decorated on both sides with silver-gilt medallions. On the front the central bust portrait of Christ, his right hand raised in blessing, is flanked by Mary on the left terminal and John the Precursor (John the Baptist) on the right. Both Mary and John turn toward the center and raise their arms in supplication, in the standard Deesis composition. Four very fine foliate scroll bands extend from the central medallion, forming a smaller cross within the larger one. The archangel Michael wearing an imperial jeweled loros appears at the top, while the archangel Gabriel in an embroidered loros can be found on the bottom terminal.
On the back, a medallion of Saint Thalelaios occupies the center. Thalelaios, a late third-century physician who was martyred at Aegae on the Mediterranean coast, carries the symbols of his profession, a lancet and a surgical tool case. He is flanked on the horizontal terminals by Nicholas and John Chrysostom, popular saints of the Middle Byzantine period. The archangels Uriel, in imperial loros, and Raphael, in simpler attire, appear at the top and bottom.
Such crosses were carried by the clergy in imperial ceremonies, military campaigns, and liturgical processions. They were presented to churches as votive gifts for healing or remission of sins. Although its place of origin is unknown, it is likely that this cross was meant as an offering for a specific illness, since the efficacy of the cross as an antidote for sickness was invoked in a sermon written by John Chrysostom, whose image appears on the back.
The core of the cross is iron, which is sheathed in eight separate arms of silver. The central medallions cover the joins. The medallions, wrought in repoussé and then gilded, are backed by gypsum and iron for additional support.
Classroom Hints:
Notice: materials, patterns, heads
Discuss: symbols, function
Compare: Medallion of the Emperor Maurice Tiberius
Next Image
