This gold cross, set with pearls, rubies and a colourless white stone is enamelled on the reverse with the figures of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and a central figure of Christ, represented as the Man of Sorrows emerging from the tomb. It functioned not only as a piece of high value jewellery, demonstrating the wealth and status of the wearer but also as a personal devotional aid.

The religious significance of the cross itself is underscored by the engraving on its reverse. This would have been seen by the wearer alone and used as a focus for prayer, in the same way as a portable altarpiece or Book of Hours. The choice of gemstones reinforced the meaning. The pearls fixed to the corners of the cross were associated with purity whilst the red of the rubies signified passion and the blood of Christ’s sacrifice. The image of the suffering Christ was a powerful stimulus for prayer and devotion, drawing the viewer into an imaginative sympathy with Christ’s pain and a desire to follow his example. A series of Passion prints by Albrecht Durer 1509-11 (British Museum) was accompanied by poems which draw out this meaning. The accompanying verses remind us that “God, tortured with floggings and thorns under an unjust judge/ You teach us to bear our sorrows with calm fortitude”
Christ sitting or standing in an attitude of resignation upon his tomb was one of the most popular devotional images of the Middle Ages. It was known as the Image of Pity and was inspired by the mystical vision of Christ seen by Saint Gregory whilst celebrating mass in the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome. A mosaic depiction of the vision was placed in the church and became a focus for prayer, earning the penitent pilgrim a remission from the pains of Purgatory. The indulgence was extended to copies by Pope Urban IV (1328-9) and by the mid -15th century, prayers before the image earned up to 45, 000 years grace from Purgatory.

Cross jewels were amongst the most commonly worn types of religious jewellery, although IHS pendants, jewelled pelicans and lambs representing the Angus Dei were also worn. Isabella of Castille commissioned several enamelled gold crosses from her jewellers in the 1480s, including a cross with the device of the crusade. Gold and pearl crosses very like this one can be seen in several contemporary portraits, as well as in the borders of a Hispano - Flemish Book of Hours dated around 1500 (Museo Episcopal, Vich, inv. no. 7073). Two portraits by the German artist Wolfgang Beurer show the sitter holding a small ruby and pearl cross on a gold chain up to the viewer (‘Portrait of a man’, 1487, Thyssen Bornemisza collection, Madrid and ‘Portrait of a man and a woman’, late 15th century, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany). A portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger of Sir Brian Tuke dated 1527-8 shows him wearing a gold cross, also set with pearls in the corners and enamelled with Christ’s wounds and a central red stone (National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA).It also resembles a larger cross worn by the Spanish King Ferdinand II in a portrait of the 1520s (Society of Antiquaries, London) . The Clare reliquary cross now in the Royal Collections found at Clare Castle, Suffolk is engraved with the figure of crucified Christ and has four pearls set around the arms of the cross.