Preview
Geography
Ethiopia, Africa
Culture
Ethiopian
Medium
Metal alloy
Dimensions
7 3/4 ✕ 3 5/8 ✕ 5/16 in. (19.6 ✕ 8.5 ✕ 0.7 cm)
0.40 oz. (6.5 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.28
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from the Endicott-Guthaim Gallery Inc. in New York on March 5, 1976.
Condition
Vertical cut running along the length of the shaft on side 2.
References
Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, eds., Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): pp. 5–25, 67–75, 82–84, cat. 3. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Description
This small hand cross, cast in one piece, consists of a cross, a shaft, and rectangular base. The cross has four arms of approximately equal length, and four small triangular-shaped protrusions at the crossing. Each arm flares into a pair of volutes, each pair taking a form that closely resembles a prayer stick. The cross is incised with five circles at and around the crossing, and a circle on each of the volutes. A beaded line outlines the outer contours of each arm. The small cruciform finials are defined by rounded arms articulated by shallow notches and five circles inscribed onto the surface.
The rectangular base is incised with a beaded and solid-line border. At the center is a design that consists of a rectangle inscribed with an X and four circles at the corners. The upper and lower edges of the base feature crosses that resemble those used for the finials on the cross.
Lynn Jones, in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 82. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/