Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross, Cl. 998 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross, Cl. 998 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross, Cl. 998 (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross, Cl. 998 (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross, Cl. 998 (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Reliquary cross with relics of the True Cross

Description

Not on display

13th century

High Middle Ages

This reliquary cross contained a fragment believed to originate from the True Cross, that is to say the cross on which Christ was crucified. This type of  reliquary increased with the influx of relics following the capture of Constantinople in 1204, during the Fourth Crusade.

It is a two-barred cross of Byzantine origin featuring a rich decor of filigree scrollwork  and gemstones on the front face. The back features the blessing Christ and the Lamb of God, surrounded by angels and symbols of the four evangelists.


 

From one artwork to another

Head of the king of Judah No. 6, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cl. 22988 © GrandPalaisRmn / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Heads of the kings of Judah

First half of the 13th century