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HIGHLY UNUSUAL CRUDE CHRISTIAN ROMAN BYZANTINE LEAD CROSS PENDANT 7th - 11th Century A.D. This rare and very crude cross hails from the early Christian era of the Byzantine Roman Empire. The arms of the cross our round and heavy and its design suggests it was made by pouring molten lead in a simple impression made in sand. It is highly unusual and speculation can surmise that it likely was a hastily made cross crafted by a Christian Roman soldier prior to entering a battle. Crosses were almost always worn by Christian soldiers of the Eastern Roman Empire and especially in battle, where it was believed that the display of faith would bring protection by God. Such crude and masculine designs were irrelevant as it was the meaning of the cross that was of utmost importance. This is probably one of the crudest examples we have encountered and it was found in a region of high concentration of both major battles and lighter conflicts that Eastern Roman Byzantine soldiers fought to protect the Christian Roman Empire. It is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing artifacts of Early Christendom we could offer. It is equally valuable to a collector of fine antiquities as it is a fascinating piece of ancient Christian jewelry for the likely purpose that it served and its extreme crudeness. Its design and appearance bear out this hypothesis of being made and worn by a soldier as it is definitely not designed to look pretty and appears hastily crafted by an inexperienced individual. If this cross could talk, what a story it might have! To think it was worn in battle makes it especially intriguing! We have added a large modern sterling silver bail to the intact and original hole at the top allowing this remarkable piece to be safely worn today on a chain. Bail is large enough to accommodate a man's or woman's chain and this stunning artifact of early Christendom could easily be worn by either a man or woman. Entire piece is heavy, solid and wearable with no worries. This is the only one of its kind we have encountered and was the only lead example we brought back from our Fall 2004 collecting trip! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The heavy encrusted patina is indicative of lead artifacts of the Ancient World and such a patina is much harder to reproduce on replica artifacts than bronze patinas making this an easy feature to authenticate its age even to an inexperienced collector. If you see ancient artifacts that are made of lead that lack such a patina, you should immediately be suspect of its genuineness. WARNING: Fakes of Byzantine crosses have saturated the collectible market. The online auctions are definitely the worst assemblage of them but I have seen numerous on websites being pawned off as real. Crooked and/or ignorant dealers are selling copies for pennies to the dollar compared to authentic examples like this one but some are asking the same price as the genuine artifacts! If the price seems too good to be true, then it is. Even the people digging these out of the ground in the most remote regions know the value of a genuine example. Beware of copies that have what appear to be signs of authenticity right down to the faking of the color and oxidized patina!!! In the Byzantine Period which lasted from the 5th century AD to the fall of Constantinople in the 15th century, the Roman Empire and Christianity were completely interwoven. It was the quintessential example of the UNION of church and state. The classic architecture, style of dress, and overall appearance of all that was "Roman" took on a new and intricate style that the world has never seen before or has ever since been repeated. Roman Byzantine culture was an eclectic and yet, harmonious religious blend of the It is during the Byzantine Period that we have the first major introduction of CHRISTIAN JEWELRY to the world!
The Christian jewelry of the ancient world always reflected the humility that Christ preached. Stunning bejeweled adornments were left to the high priests only while performing rituals. The Christian jewelry worn by all believers in antiquity was that of very crude and simplistic design, only very rarely in precious metal. The crosses of the Byzantine Period were predominantly bronze and sometimes lead. The art style was highly stylized, typical for the Byzantine culture. Depictions of Christ and Mary most often appear quite cartoon-like in the imagery on the Christian jewelry and coinage. Since many of the Byzantine coins had religious inscriptions and images of Jesus and occasionally Mary, coins are sometimes found with holes punched through them having been used as a pendant in ancient times by an early believer. In the later Medieval Era and Dark Ages, Christian jewelry maintained this humility in both overall design and manufacture with an increase in the use of silver but a continuance in the use of bronze, copper and lead. Imagery became more refined and detailed. Pilgrim badges were often worn by believers in these times if they had the grand opportunity to visit the Holy city of Jerusalem. An excellent (and wearable!) genuine antiquity from the earliest period of Christian jewelry. 41 mm in height CJ008 SOLD COMES WITH A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY / HISTORY SHEET *** shown with optional CHAIN A, not included |
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PERSONAL COLLECTION |
The
cross came to symbolize the basic Christian concepts: Incarnation,
Atonement and the Resurrection. It was believed the crosses
possessed hidden healing strength and guaranteed salvation of the
soul! Many objects in antiquity, both everyday items as well as
those for holy rituals, abounded in Christian imagery. Some examples
of this imagery that were used with Christian significance besides the
cross were the Chi-Ro symbol, the fish, angels, a starburst and
abbreviated inscriptions in Greek (the language used for religious
writings and coinage) which translated to "In Christ, Victory"
or "Jesus Christ, King of Kings".