Constantinople, 11th century A.D. A flat-section silver cross bearing a niello engraved design to one face, showing the Virgin and Child seated at the centre, bust of an evangelist within a roundel to each of the four arms; Matthew at the top, John in the right arm, Mark below and Luke in the left, each identified by a Greek inscription. See Schweizer, F., Etude de l'orfevrerie antique: une approche scientifique nouvelle pour la caracterisation du nielle, L'oeuvre d'art sous le regard des sciences, Geneva, 1994, pp.211-220; see Pitarakis, B., Les Croix Reliquaires Pectorales Byxantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, fig.18, p.37. 19.6 grams, 92 mm (3 5/8 in.). Yorkshire private collection until 2016. Acquired in the UK trade. Ex central London gallery. Accompanied by a copy of a previous typed catalogue page. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate no.11333-192187. The object's dimensions and undecorated reverse suggest that it was originally inset into a larger object or set against a backing material, such as a votive cross that could be set upon a portable altar or held in the hands for veneration. As a symbol of Christ's victory over death, the cross was the most popular Christian sign in the Byzantine period. Small cruciform encolpia were also worn around the neck as powerful amulets protecting their bearers from evil. The closest parallel to our cross originated in a goldsmith's workshop in Constantinople in the 11th century A.D. and is now held in Geneva's Musée d'art et d'histoire. It seems likely that our cross originated in the same workshop or a closely related one. [No Reserve]