Bernward Cross

after 1007/before 1022; base: 14th 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 selectively gilded silver crucifix is among the most precious surviving works from the Ottonian era. Christ is sensitively rendered, his body hanging heavily to emphasize his suffering. The work was possibly a processional cross adapted as an altar cross in the fourteenth century, when its base was made. Inscriptions on its back identify Bishop Bernward as patron and list the now-lost relics that were contained in a cavity in Christ’s body.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Bernward Cross
Date: after 1007/before 1022; base: 14th century
Culture: German (Hildesheim)
Medium: Silver with gilding
Dimensions: Overall (height with base): 12 3/16 x 5 1/2 in. (31 x 14 cm); Height (without base): 7 15/16 in. (20.2 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Silver
Credit Line: Dom-Museum Hildesheim (DS 6)
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters