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Source Description
Impressively large and elaborately embellished, the cross to which this fragment belonged was likely carried in liturgical processions. The central medallion on its front depicts Christ, flanked by medallions showing the Virgin and Saint John the Baptist. Together they form the Deesis, a powerful Byzantine image formula evoking these saints’ intercession with Christ on behalf of mankind. In the central medallion on the cross’s back is Saint Sabas, founder of an important monastery near Jerusalem, in whose honor the cross was made. He is surrounded by other monastic saints, thus indicating that the cross was likely used by a monastic community.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
145192
label
Fragment of a Processional Cross
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
145192
contentType
object
title
Fragment of a Processional Cross
description
Impressively large and elaborately embellished, the cross to which this fragment belonged was likely carried in liturgical processions. The central medallion on its front depicts Christ, flanked by medallions showing the Virgin and Saint John the Baptist. Together they form the Deesis, a powerful Byzantine image formula evoking these saints’ intercession with Christ on behalf of mankind. In the central medallion on the cross’s back is Saint Sabas, founder of an important monastery near Jerusalem, in whose honor the cross was made. He is surrounded by other monastic saints, thus indicating that the cross was likely used by a monastic community.
date
c. 1050
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757926
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 32.3 x 44.8 x 5.7 cm (12 11/16 x 17 5/8 x 2 1/4 in.)
cul
Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period
accession
1970.36
Source extras
tec
silver gilt, niello
tombstone
Fragment of a Processional Cross, c. 1050. Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period. Silver gilt, niello; overall: 32.3 x 44.8 x 5.7 cm (12 11/16 x 17 5/8 x 2 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1970.36
collection
MED - Byzantine
didYouKnow
Byzantine processions were a feast for the senses. Imagine the scent of sweet and spicy incense wafting through the air, mingling with the sound of sacred chants as priests carry this cross in a procession during the service.
citations
citation
Evans, Helen C., and William D. Wixom. <em>The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843-1261</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 60-61; Reproduced: p. 61
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein<em>. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 80-81, no. 22
citation
Boehm, Barbara Drake and Melanie Hocomb, eds. <em>Jerusalem, 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven</em>. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
89
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:27:26.402000
sourceId
145192
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Byzantine
med
silver gilt, niello
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3be36f26935f9355