PROCESSIONAL CROSS

0.40 x 0.35m
Gilded silver
19th century

The cast metal cross has trilobe arms and a socket in which to insert the pole when it is carried in litanies. Depicted at the centre of one face is the figure of the Crucified Christ, lifeless upon the Cross, naked save for a loincloth. Represented on the finials are four scenes from the Passion of Christ – the Prayer in Gethsemane, the Judgement of Pilate, the Descent from the Cross and the Lamentation. Correspondingly, the other face is decorated with the image of God the Father at the centre, framed by symbols referring to the Passion – the cockerel, the ladder and the column  while represented on the finials of the arms are the Betrayal, the Flagellation, the Mocking and the Resurrection (Anastasis) in Western type.

The rough design, the summary representation of the scenes, the decorative disposition and the naturalistic treatment of some individual elements, such as the anatomical details of Christ’s body, the attempted rendering of the texture of wood on the Cross and the military uniforms, point to a metalworking workshop active in the nineteenth century

Αndromachi Κatselaki