Neck Cross

Creator

Preview

Geography

Ethiopia, Africa

Culture

Ethiopian

Medium

Metal alloy

Dimensions

1 ⁵/₈ ✕ 1 ³/₁₆ ✕ ¹/₃₂ in. (4.1 ✕ 3.0 ✕ 0.1 cm)

0.39 oz. (11.0 g)

Credit Line

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

Accession Number

2020.37

Provenance

Purchased by David P. Harris from the Guthaim Gallery Inc. in New York on October 23, 1978.

Condition

Similar condition on both sides of the cross: patina on the metal around the cutout sections, some corrosion of the metal on the upper arm, and multiple, significant scratches, which may be part of original, now-damaged decoration.

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, 112–27, 139–40, cat. 19. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/

Description

Damage or wear on this cross has obscured the incised line decoration that once covered the majority of both sides. The extant lines once extended across all arms, and on both sides forming a weave-like pattern. Similar incised decoration is found on other neck crosses in the catalog (2020.33, 2020.42). An additional decorative effect is created by five cutouts in the metal: a square at the center of the cross, and four triangles in the middle of each arm.

Sarah Mathiesen, in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 139. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/