Processional or Altar Cross

Description Originally, this cross had "pendelia" (jewels, crosslets, or Greek letters) suspended from the four holes in its horizontal arms. Like other medium-sized crosses with a tang, this one could have been carried in procession or affixed in a stand, or both.

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984-1985.
• Silver Treasure from Early Byzantium. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1986.

Provenance [Excavated in Syria, 1908-1910]; Tawfic Abucasem, Hama and Port Said, ca. 1913, by purchase; Joseph Brummer, Paris, ca. 1928, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Transcription] Κυριακὸς εὐξάμενος προσένεγκεν τῶ ἁγίω Σεργίω; [Translation] Having prayed, Cyriacus presented [this] to Saint Sergius

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1929