{"id":393,"date":"2017-07-17T12:34:49","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T11:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/illuminating-objects\/?page_id=393"},"modified":"2017-09-01T12:44:26","modified_gmt":"2017-09-01T11:44:26","slug":"provenance-and-dating","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/illuminating-objects\/illuminating-objects-home\/mount-athos-cross\/provenance-and-dating\/","title":{"rendered":"About the cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

This large cross, decorated with minutely carved scenes of the Old and New Testament, was used for the benediction of the congregation during the liturgy of the Orthodox Church. Its main body bears episodes from the Great Feasts Cycle, known as the\u00a0Dodekaorton<\/em>\u00a0in Greek, essentially events from the life of Christ and the Virgin, while the foliate ornaments surrounding it are carved with Old Testament narratives and images of prophets and saints. A pair of Greek acronyms referring to the salvation of mankind can be seen on the lateral sides of the cross. The metal base was probably added in the nineteenth-century.<\/p>\n

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Individual scene narratives<\/h3>\n

Each scene, identified by a relief inscription in Greek, is set underneath an arched opening and against an architectural background. The iconographic programme does not follow a strictly chronological order, yet further consideration reveals that the carver chose the position of each episode carefully. For instance, the central compositions on either side of the cross show two highly important events from the life of Christ: the Nativity on one side (A), and the Crucifixion on the other (B) – a pungent juxtaposition of life and death very pertinent to the symbolic meaning of the cross. The horizontal arms of the cross (side B) bear a sequence of scenes that evoke the idea of human redemption through death. From left to right we see: the Dormition (death) of the Virgin, the Crucifixion, and the Harrowing of Hell. These episodes are flanked by two Old Testament narratives also emphasizing the idea of salvation through God\u2019s intervention: the Three Hebrews in the Fiery Furnace and Daniel in the Lions\u2019Den, both taken from the Book of Daniel.<\/p>\n

Click on sections of the cross to reveal close-ups and read descriptions of the scene narratives:<\/p>\n