Title

Hand Cross

Creator

Preview

Geography

Ethiopia, Africa

Culture

Ethiopian

Medium

Metal alloy

Dimensions

5 ¹/₄ ✕ 1 ¹⁵/₁₆ ✕ ¹/₄ in. (13.3 ✕ 4.9 ✕ 0.6 cm)

1.60 oz. (45.4 g)

Credit Line

Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020

Accession Number

2020.23

Provenance

Purchased by David P. Harris from the African Gallery in San Francisco on November 26, 1977.

Condition

Surface exhibits rust concentrated in the corners and crevices.

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, 101–03, cat. 9. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/

Description

This small hand cross, cast in one piece, is similar in shape to that of another hand cross in this collection (2020.28). The cross consists of four arms of equal length, each flaring at the ends into two volutes. Each arm is also adorned with a three-lobed finial. The transition between the lower arm of the cross and the shaft is marked by three bulbous “cushions.” These are also present at the lower end of the shaft, connected to the base. The three-lobed finial attached to the lower edge of the base is similar in form to those on the cross head.

Lynn Jones, in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 101. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/