Hand Cross
unknown
Basic information
Additionally
- Type
- decorative and applied arts ritual items
- Genre
- religious
- Provenance
- Kuty village, Busk district, Lviv region
Information about author
Object description
The design of the hand cross is seven-pointed, with an elongated central crosspiece (one end is missing). Iconographic scenes occupy the central part of the cross on either side. The carving is precise and laconic, and the line graphically outlines the shape. On the front side, a squat contour image of the Crucifixion is carved with a chisel, following the Byzantine iconographic tradition. The Saviour is depicted with open palms, nailed to the cross with four nails. Jesus' anatomically contoured body is covered by a short loincloth modelled by straight vertical lines. A clear, smooth line around the perimeter separates the upper frame from the main composition. The central plane is filled with a rectangular stripe of letters framed by a "kryvulka" (curved) motif. On the back of the central cross is a textured relief of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms. The elongated, full-length figure of the Virgin Mary wearing a crown tends towards geometric forms. Her dress is decorated with triangular cuts and a zigzag pattern. Graphically, the figures of the saints are schematised on the level of the liturgical object. A carved stripe runs along the outline of the cross, which rises above the background. The frame of the cross is decorated with a flat, chiselled line that repeats the frame's shape. The decorative solution of the work is dominated by the "kryvulka" (curved) motif, which can be seen on the whole surface of the cross.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
