Embroidered cross from an Omophorion

Embroidered cross from an Omophorion

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This cross once decorated a bishop’s outer stole, or omophorion. Such crosses were often embroidered with images, as here, where Christ’s Harrowing of Hell (in Greek, Anastasis, or “Resurrection”) is shown. The scene is surrounded by images of the prophets Job, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, and Hosea, who hold scrolls representing their prophecies of the event.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Embroidered cross from an OmophorionEmbroidered cross from an OmophorionEmbroidered cross from an OmophorionEmbroidered cross from an OmophorionEmbroidered cross from an Omophorion

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.