Preview
Geography
Ethiopia, Africa
Culture
Ethiopian
Medium
Metal alloy
Dimensions
1 5/16 ✕ 1 1/8 ✕ 1/16 in. (3.3 ✕ 2.8 ✕ 0.2 cm)
0.13 oz. (3.6 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.38
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from the Guthaim Gallery Inc. in New York on October 23, 1978.
Condition
The rope-like decoration on the upper arm of side 1 is worn down.
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. 20. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Description
This cross has arms of equal length that are narrowest in the center and flare outward, ending in rounded edges that are articulated by applied globules — two on the upper arm and three on the other arms. Circular bosses are applied on each arm and at the crossing of side 1. A single strand of rope-like wire extends from the center, circular boss and wraps twice around those on the arms. Side 2 is undecorated and displays a slightly different profile than that of side 1. The applied globules makes the edges of each arm appear straighter on side 2, giving them a pointed, rather than a rounded, profile. A raised diamond-shaped panel is affixed at the crossing of this side.
Sarah Mathiesen, in Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 139. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Keywords
Yangät Mäsqäl