Pendant reliquary cross
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver, silver gilt; ruby, sapphire, garnet, pearl
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Jewellery, room 91, case 52, shelf A, box 8
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The images decorating the back of this cross were often used as a focus for meditation in the late medieval period. The scenes on the lid show the Instruments of the Passion – scourge, whip, lance, sponge and nails – which were used during the Crucifixion. A tiny fragment of one of them may have formed a relic, stored in the cross's now empty interior. Pearls symbolised purity, and the red gems may have symbolised sacrificial blood shed by Christ.
The jewellery worn in medieval Europe reflected an intensely hierarchical and status-conscious society. Royalty and the nobility wore gold, silver and precious gems. Humbler ranks wore base metals, such as copper or pewter. Colour (provided by precious gems and enamel) and protective power were highly valued.
Physical description
Pendant Reliquary Cross, silver, silver gilt, ruby, sapphire, garnet, pearl. On the obverse high collets are set in corded rings on the centre and on the arms. The rings are set with small beads. The collets contain (left) a ruby, (centre) a sapphire, (right and bottom) garnets added in the nineteenth century. Between the arms are four pearls set on short stems issuing from large round beads. The reverse, of plain silver-gilt consists of a flat plate, pinned in place, under which the relic would have been kept. It is engraved with five roundels depicting the Instruments of the Passion: the three nails, the sponge, the lance, the scourge and a motif which may be the rope.
Place of Origin
Germany (possibly, made)
Date
ca. 1450-1475 (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Silver, silver gilt; ruby, sapphire, garnet, pearl
Dimensions
Length: 3.5 cm, Width: 3.5 cm
Descriptive line
Pendant reliquary cross. Silver, silver gilt, set with ruby, sapphire, garnets and pearls. Germany, ca. 1450-1475
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Lightbown, Ronald, Medieval European Jewellery, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992, cat.53, pp.510-511
Campbell, Marian, Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500, London, V&A Publishing, 2009, p.17, fig.11
Materials
Silver; Gold; Pearl; Ruby; Garnet; Sapphire
Techniques
Gilding
Subjects depicted
Instruments of the Passion
Categories
Metalwork; Religion; Christianity; Jewellery
Collection code
MET
