Hand Cross
unknown
Basic information
Additionally
- Type
- decorative and applied arts ritual items
- Genre
- religious
- Provenance
- Borusiv village, Zhydachiv district, Lviv region
Information about author
Object description
The hand cross is four-pointed, Latin in design. It is executed using the technique of flat relief carving, in which the carved elements rise above the background, creating the effect of volume and relief of the images. The compositional solution is simple and laconic, without scenes with many figures. On the obverse, the master has placed the Crucifixion in the central stem, on a cross outlined by a contour whose iconography follows the Byzantine tradition. The figure of Christ is depicted with raised arms, bent knees, parallel legs, and a head tilted to the right shoulder. Christ is modelled with an accurate reproduction of human anatomical features. The textured face of the Saviour is full of sadness and submission. At the ends of the frame are filigree, waist-length figures of the companions – the Virgin Mary in a prayerful pose and John. In the upper part of the vertical crossbar is a traditional plaque with the inscription "INRI", above which is the All-Seeing Eye in a triangle – a symbolic image of the Trinity. The area at the lower end is filled with a schematic representation of a mountain with Adam's skull. At the centre of the compositional solution of the back of the cross is the full-length figure of the Virgin Mary in a prayerful pose. At the ends of the horizontal crossbar are bust images of saints with graphically elaborated details on both sides. The work is characterised by a realistic interpretation of iconographic images, almost in raised relief. The framing of the outline of the handmade cross around the perimeter is smooth and follows the shape of the frames.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
