Byzantine Style Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant
20th century A.D. Hinged suspension loop, two recessed halves hollow to the reverse, low-relief figure in orans pose to the obverse, geometric ornament to the reverse. See Pitarakis, B., Les Croix-Reliquaires Pectorales Byzantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, for original examples from the Eastern empire. 126 grams, 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.).

Acquired 1980-1990s. From the private collection of H.N., Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK.

Usually the reliquary crosses or enkolpia, were composed of two separate halves, inside of which a relic of a saint was contained; this could have been a piece of cloth or a bone. The practice, in the Orthodox Church, is still in place today, sometimes by using reproductions of ancient styles, like our specimen, probably realised at the beginning of the last century. [No Reserve]