Hand Cross
unknown
Basic information
Additionally
- Type
- decorative and applied arts ritual items
- Genre
- religious
- Provenance
- Zhydachiv district
Information about author
Object description
By design, the hand cross is seven-pointed (two ends of the upper and one end of the middle cross are missing). The work was done with a chisel using the flat carving technique. The compositional solution of the cross is simple and laconic. Iconographic scenes occupy the middle part of the central stem of the cross on both sides. On the front side, a squat graphic representation of the Crucifixion is carved on a smooth, contoured four-pointed cross. Following the Eastern iconographic tradition, the Saviour is depicted nailed to the cross with four nails. The master tried to convey the anatomical features of the human body, schematically working out the details. At the end of the middle crosspiece is a graphically schematised waist-length figure. On the back of the hand cross in the central part is a textured relief of the Virgin Mary in a crown. She holds a sceptre in her right hand and supports the Child Jesus with her left. On the preserved end of the middle frame is a schematic figure of a man working in flat relief. A geometric pattern of squares and small parallel lines dominates the decorative treatment of the hand cross. A clear carved stripe runs along the contour of the cross, rising above the background. The simplicity of the images and their graphic representation indicate the authorship of a folk master.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
