Half of a Reliquary Pendant Cross

Half of a Reliquary Pendant Cross

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Copper alloy reliquary crosses were popular in the Orthodox world in the Byzantine and post Byzantine centuries. They were composed of two halves joined by a hinge. Here the surviving side of such a reliquary presents the Virgin standing in the orant prayer pose with hands upraised at the center of the cross. On the ends of the arms are medallions with busts of the four evangelists holding their gospels.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Half of a Reliquary Pendant CrossHalf of a Reliquary Pendant CrossHalf of a Reliquary Pendant CrossHalf of a Reliquary Pendant CrossHalf of a Reliquary Pendant Cross

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.