Christian Processional Cross Yale University Art Gallery

15th century

This fifteenth-century cross is interesting for its arabesques, which include a central cross with the kabbalistic design of a continuous four-part loop, called a hatumere in Arabic and known all across the Saharan region as a protective image. Processional crosses like this one are shown being carried by figures in fifteenth-century illuminated manuscripts, but existing processional crosses with this design are rare; the design is more common for silver pectoral crosses.

Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: 9 7/16 × 5 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (24 × 13.97 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Class of 1913, Fund
Accession Number: 2010.119.1
Geography: Ethiopia
Culture: Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Period: 15th century
Classification: Sculpture
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Milos Simovic, New York, to 2010; sold to Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2010

Bibliography

"Acquisitions," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin: Online Supplement (accessed March 1, 2012), 4, ill.

Object copyright

No Copyright - United States

Additional information

Object/Work type

crosses (objects), pendants (jewelry), religious art

Subject

Christianity

Technical metadata and APIs

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