On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Reliquary Cross
Not on view
This cross is an encolpion—a work made to hold relics and to be worn, hung from a chain, on the chest. It opens like a locket and is richly decorated and inscribed inside and out. On its face Christ on the cross is flanked by the Virgin and Saint John. (The inside and back are shown in the photos here.) As the inscriptions are primarily in Slavonic, the cross has been attributed to Russia, though paleographic study has called that into question.
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This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
