650 Sterling Reliquary Cross Pendant
An extraordinary piece of historic religious jewelry. It is very rare to see a perfectly working reconstruction of a Byzantine reliquary cross. This exquisite heavy pendant is a masterpiece reconstruction from the Byzantine museum in Thessaloniki.
650 Reliquary Cross Pendant
Weight: 27-30 grams of solid sterling silver! (variation is owed to being 100% hand made)
Roman Reliquary (Enkolpion)Cross 9th Century A.D. (Byzantium, East Roman empire)
Full weight from Sterling Silver in re-mastered original 9th century condition.
This is possibly the only accurately researched and working reproduction of a Roman reliquary cross, created with such care and quality to comprise a fine jewel in its own right! This brilliant heavy silver sculpture has full working parts (notice the fine silver screw and suspension bails). It carries a powerful overall sensation of an original silver reliquary cross as it would have been in it's original condition in the 9th Century AD (with front, back and hinge mechanisms)
One face of the cross depicts the figure of Christ on the Cross in a uniquely byzantine engraving and the other depicts another byzantine figurative carving of Virgin Mary. Both carvings are true reproductions from outstanding 9th Century specimens from an original artifact currently hosted in the Byzantine Museum of Thessaloniki. The splendid re-mastered version was sculpted 70 years ago by the sellers grandfather who was a pioneering silversmith from Asia Minor (formerly Byzantium) while the original mold of this masterpiece proudly remains part of the sellers family heritage in jewelry.
| Article group | Pendants |
| Gender | For Him or Her |
| Historic Period | Era: Byzantine |
| Material | Solid Sterling Silver |
| Length (top to bottom including bails or hooks) | 62 mm (2 and 7⁄16in) |
| Width | 32 mm (1 and 17⁄64in) |
| Weight | 27-30 grams |
