Eastern Roman/Byzantine
Medieval Christian Silver Reliquary - Crusader Era
10th – 12th Century AD
85 x 39 mm – 3.25” tall, weight 52.44 gm
Front: Full-length figure of Christ with arms extended, wearing a loincloth. Haloed heads of Saints are at each terminal of the cross.
Back: undecorated
A finely crafted rare design in this medium, in excellent condition.
Two part, hinged silver reliquary cross, complete and apparently unopened. The central image of this unusual cross portrays Christ with arms extended, wearing a robe, with saints’ heads at each terminal.. The reliquary was likely thought to contain a splinter of the True Cross. A closely related example in bronze is Pitirakis, "Les Croix-Reliquares Pectorales Byzantine", Paris, 2006, fig. 49. Other reliquary crosses, see “Kreuz und Kruzifix”, Diocese Museum of Friesing, Germany, 2005 – pg 174-175.
By the 5th and 6th centuries, the Cross had replaced the Chi-Rho as the standard emblem of Christian religious devotion. Its meaning transcended that of the simple monogram to visually recall the crucifixion. Crosses were worn by individuals from every social stratum, from the elaborate bejeweled golden cross of the patriarch to the simple crosses of the common man. The word crusade, which is derived from the Latin crux (cross), is a reference to the biblical injunction that Christians carry their cross. Crusaders wore a red cross sewn on their tunics to indicate they had assumed the cross and were soldiers of Christ. Many also wore a pectoral cross around their neck.
