Processional Cross

Place of OriginBarcelona, Spain

Dateearly 16th century

DimensionsH: 43 7/8 in.; W: 16 1/4 in.

MediumSilver, partially gilded

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1962.4

Not on View

Label TextThis elaborate silver cross was carried on a long staff at the head of processions during important Catholic Church celebrations. The pelican at the top of the front side, above Christ on the cross flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Apostle, is a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice: the pelican was believed to pierce its breast to feed its young with its own blood. On the reverse side, the busts of the four Evangelists (who wrote the four Gospels of the Bible) can be identified by the symbols immediately beneath them. Saint John’s symbol is the eagle, Saint Luke’s is the bull, Saint Matthew’s is an angel, and Saint Mark’s is a lion.Published ReferencesWerner, Alfred, "Neuerwerbungen", Pantheon, XXI, Jahrgang, IV Juli/August 1963, p. 253.

"Accessions of American and Canadian Museums, January-March 1963", The Art Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2, Summer, 1963, p. 267, repr. p. 253.

Riefstahl, Rudolf M., "Medieval Art", Toledo Museum News, New Series, vol. 7, no. 1, Spring 1964, p. 22, repr. (also published as Medieval Art).

Frankfurter, Alfred, "Museum Evaluations, 2: Toledo", Art News, vol. 63, no. 9, January 1965, p. 24-27, 53-56, repr. p. 24.

Rogers, Millard F., "Spanish Art", Toledo Museum News, New Series, vol. 10, no. 2, Summer 1967, p. 46, repr. (detail 47).

Oman, Charles, The Golden Age of Hispanic Silver, 1400-1665, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1968, p. xv, xvi, 4, repr., fig. 31.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Johnson, A.M., Hispanic Silverwork, New York, 1944, p. 158-63, catalogues a 15th century Barcelona processional cruficix in the collection of the Hispanic Society.