pectoral cross

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Object Type
Museum number: 1949,1203.1
Description: Pectoral cross; gold; with loop and expanding arms which terminate in oval medallions; these contain, in low relief, personifications of the Sun and Moon, the Virgin, St John and the soldiers casting lots; in the centre Christ crucified; letters above his head; reverse, open-work ornament once enamelled; on top, a broad fluted ring for attachment.
Cultures/periods
Production date: 6thC-7thC
Materials: gold; enamel (lost)
Technique: cast; relief
Dimensions: Length: 79 millimetres (with loop)
$Inscriptions
Bibliographic references: Tait 1976 / Jewellery Through 7000 Years (356); Tonnochy 1950 / A Byzantine Pectoral Cross; Kent & Painter 1977 / Wealth of the Roman World. Gold and Silver, AD 300-700 (162); Daim 2010 / Byzanz: Prach und Alltag (171)
Location: On display (G41/dc13)
Exhibition history: Exhibited: 2010 26 Feb-13 Jun, Germany, Bonn, Kunst and Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Byzantium: Splendour and Daily Life
Subjects: soldier; saint/martyr; crucifixion; moon; cross; sun/moon
Associated names: Representation of: Sun; Representation of: Moon; Representation of: Jesus Christ; Representation of: Virgin Mary; Representation of: St John the Evangelist
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1949
Department: Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number: 1949,1203.1
Conservation

Free entry