Processional cross

Italian, Florence

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 500

Inscriptions on the back of this object indicate that it served as the repository for a relic believed to be a fragment of the True Cross and that it is thought to have been made for a convent of the Poor Clares, probably in Florence. It is an extraordinary example of Florentine Renaissance metalwork, incorporating within its silver-gilt frame a series of twenty silver plaques with nielloed scenes depicting the Passion of Christ and various saints.

Processional cross, Partly gilt silver, niello, and copper with traces of gilding, over wood, Italian, Florence

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Processional cross, Partly gilt silver, niello, and copper with traces of gilding, over wood, Italian, Florence
Processional cross, Partly gilt silver, niello, and copper with traces of gilding, over wood, Italian, Florence
Processional cross, Partly gilt silver, niello, and copper with traces of gilding, over wood, Italian, Florence

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