Reliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and Child

Reliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This cross represents a more refined example of the reliquary crosses common during the middle Byzantine period. The image of the crucified Christ is similar to the one on the reverse of the cross reliquary lid in this case. He wears a colobium (sleeveless or short-sleeve tunic) with two clavi (bands), and his feet are supported by a large footrest (suppedaneum), while his death can be inferred from the slight angle of his head to the left. On the reverse is the Virgin. In front of her body is a medallion with the Christ Child, an image type that stresses Christ’s divinity.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Reliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and ChildReliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and ChildReliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and ChildReliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and ChildReliquary Cross with Christ Crucified and the Virgin and Child

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.