Byzantine crosses and jewelry collection
National Archeological Museum, Athens, GreeceMaterial: Gold, silver, bronze, garnets, amethyst, steatite
Date range: 5th-12th century AD
Origin: Byzantine Empire, including Constantinople
The display shows various types of crosses used in Byzantine Christian worship and devotion. The large ornate crosses are reliquary crosses, which held small pieces of sacred relics inside them and were highly valued religious objects.
Smaller cross pendants were worn as personal jewelry by Byzantine Christians to show their faith. The crosses come in many styles, from simple bronze forms to elaborate gold pieces decorated with precious stones like garnets and amethyst.
The collection also includes crescent-shaped gold earrings decorated with small hanging ornaments, cross-shaped bronze seals used to stamp official documents, and small gold cross pendants. These objects show the importance of the cross symbol in Byzantine Christian life and the variety of ways it was displayed.
Museum label reference:
11. Cross. Gold and garnets.
12. Cross. Gold and amethyst. 5th c. A.D.
13. Cross-shaped seal. Bronze. Inscription K[Lord]E B[help] NIKHTA PROTOSPA[tharios] and ARTOK[lin]. From Constantinople. 10th c. A.D.
14. Reliquary crosses. Bronze. 8th-9th c. A.D.
15. Crosses. Gold, silver, garnets, steatite and bronze. 6th-8th c. A.D.
16. Cross. Bronze. 10th-12th c. A.D.
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