Cross made of agate with silver and silver-gilt mounts, 17th century.

Agate cross, stem with 3 knops and baluster, the cross in the form of a 3-knopped baluster, the joint mounted in silver gilt and hatched silver gilt frame of Christ on cross.

Given by W.L. Hildburgh

Private Devotion
The objects in this display are of two kinds. They include pieces made for use in private chapels, such as plate and shrines, as well as personal objects like reliquaries and jewels used in private devotions. It was mainly the great houses, like Chatsworth, Hatfield and Arundel Castle, that had a private chapel. They held services for the family, their guests and servants and had their own altar plate. Many of the objects made for private chapels were similar to those made for parish churches.

Jewelled religious objects are used as an aid to prayer and were found in a much wider social context. Reliquary pendants act as a focus for devotion through the relics or images of saints they contain, while the rosary provides a discipline and structure for private prayer. Such pieces are often treasured personal possessions, passed down through generations.

The small size of this cross suggests it was used for personal devotion, possibly in the home. A luxurious and costly object, it incorporates cut and polished agate (a type of quartz). Agate was commonly found in Germany, and the material requires a skilled worker to manipulate the hard surface to produce such a delicate object.

M.18-1952