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.
Processional or Altar Cross
Not on view
This handsome cross is made of a solid sheet of silver, like crosses from sixth- and seventh-century Syrian church hoards. The beaded finial is more typical of later middle Byzantine silver crosses constructed of silver sheets with figurative decoration over an iron core. The cross may represent the preservation of earlier traditions of cross construction in Armenia, or the finial may be a later addition to an early cross.
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