Reliquary Cross with Christ and the Virgin

Unknown

9th–13th century · Copper alloy · Medieval Art

This cross and similar examples are made of two crosses hinged at the bottom, which allowed access to a hollow space meant to hold a relic. The large numbers of surviving copper-alloy reliquary crosses suggest that they were not used solely for relics of the True Cross or other primary relics, such as the bone of a saint; instead they likely contained secondary relics, for instance, a piece of earth from a holy site or a piece of fabric made holy through contact with the body of a saint.

Artist

Unknown

Date

9th–13th century

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

Byzantine

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Gift of Estate of Lawrence J. Majewski, 1999