Very rare 16/17thC Japanese Iron Cross with Buddha. This is the 3rd one of these I've offered recently as I was fortunate to find a collection of 3 of them a while back. This is the last and the finest. I've owned a number of other iron examples of this subject, almost certainly from the same origin, over the past 30 years. I have seen just one other at auction. I've also owned 2 bronze examples. I've been told they were used by early Japanese Christians, as they were persecuted by the Shoguns, and wanted to show that they still respected the Buddha and "Honored their Elders" - 1.14lbs - .515kg _ 10"H x 7.75"W- 1.07lbs - .485kg _ 10"H x 7.75"W