Hand Cross
unknown
Basic information
Additionally
- Type
- decorative and applied arts ritual items
- Genre
- religious
Information about author
Object description
The design of the hand cross is seven-pointed. Its compositional solution is simple and laconic. Iconographic subjects occupy the central part of the cross on both sides. The front is decorated with a squat relief of the Crucifixion. Below this, at the lower end of the cross, is Adam's skull. The work was executed in imitation of the Western iconographic tradition – the Saviour is depicted nailed to the cross with three nails, his palms closed, and his head tilted to his right shoulder. A short loincloth on the thighs covers Christ's anatomically elaborated body. A clear, smooth line around the perimeter separates the upper frame from the main composition. Its entire surface is covered with the inscription "INRI". The ends of the lower frame are filled with relief images of figures, possibly saints. Their figures are schematised. On the back of the cross in the middle is a textured relief of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child in her arms. At the ends of the central frame are two figures in flat relief. A clear carved stripe runs along the outline of the cross, rising into the background. Each of the seven frames has a layered finial resembling a cornice with a ball at the centre.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
