Processional Cross
ca. 1500
Medium
Wood, tin
Dimensions
H. 18 × W. 8 3/4 × D. 1 3/4 in. (45.7 × 22.2 × 4.4 cm)
Classification
Wood-Sculpture
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1999
Accession Number
1999.103
Art Historical Context
Behold the elegant *Processional Cross* crafted by the artist Ezra around 1500, a masterful example of wood sculpture enriched with tin. Standing 18 inches tall (45.7 cm), with a width of 8¾ inches (22.2 cm) and depth of 1¾ inches (4.4 cm), this from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, the Americas invites us into a world of devotion and craftsmanship. Acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1999, it the fusion of organic wood and gleaming metal in sacred objects. In the vibrant traditions of African Christian art—likely Ethiopian Orthodox—these handheld crosses ...