Post-Byzantine Orthodox cross, Mount Athos, 17th century.
Cedar wood.
In the 19th century it was mounted inside a silver-plated metal cross.
Measurements: 7 x 4.5 cm; 21 x 10 cm (blessing cross).
The cross has two sides: one depicting an archaic crucified Christ with stiff legs at whose feet is the skull of Adam; on Christ's side is the profile of the Virgin; the other depicting the baptism of Christ with St John and the dove of the Holy Spirit.
Post-Byzantine crosses are rare on the market, often kept in museums. They are small crosses carved from olive, cedar or boxwood and depict scenes from the life of Christ.
They were originally intended as pectoral crosses, but were later incorporated into objects for liturgical use: in our case, it was transformed into a blessing cross in the 19th century by inserting it into a solid silver and silver-plated structure (the structure is made of silver-plated metal, the decoration of the leaves is solid silver). This cross has been the object of deep devotion; the sculpted figures show the wear and tear of the relief due to rubbing against the pectoral of the wearer.