Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Penant

Hinged at the top and pinned to a ribbed bail, engraved with frontal figure of St. John, arms raised, “orans”, palm fronds at the edges of the cross’ arms, inscribed in Greek, O IOANIS. The reverse inscribed in Greek, from the top, O IOANES, and from the left, O THEOLOGOS(St. John the Theologian).

9th Century AD or earlier

12.4 x 6.5 cm (4 7/8 x 2 9/16 inches)

#5465

Ex: Constable-Maxwell Collection, Switzerland, 1950s–60s.

Exhibited: BRAFA Art Fair. (Brussels, 26 Jan- 2 Feb 2020) Published: Antiquarium, Ltd.; Ancient Treasures XVII. (London, 2018) p.49

Comparandum:Ross, Marvin C.; Catalogue of the Byzantine and early medieval antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Vol. 2, Jewelry, enamels, and art of the migration period (Washington D.C., 1965) pp.74-75, pl. LIII no.98