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A Small Bronze Reliquary from Byzantine Times

This small hinged reliquary is about 37mm (1.5 inches) long and has a hollow compartment into which ashes or bone fragments of a dead saint can be placed. The Eastern form of Christianity that later became the Orthodox Church had its own iconographic symbolism. The figures on the front and back of this reliquary are quite rounded and stylized, lacking any features that would distinguish the male from the female figure. Yet these figures are instantly recognizable as those of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. The upper figure with outstretched arms represents Christ with outstretched arms as he hung on the cross. The other figure with arms bent at the elbow is the Virgin Mary with her hands raised heavenward in an attitude of supplication.

Small crosses and reliquaries have long been a popular item amongst collectors of antiquities. The cross is the definitive symbol of Christianity and almost every Christian from ancient times through the !500's wore some form of cross - shaped jewellery as Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians do today. They were made over a time span from the First Century A. D. until the present, in both the Eastern portion of the Roman Empire and Europe. Often the little crosses were made, as this one was, with a hinged front and back so they could serve as a reliquary. Sometimes they were just cast from solid bronze or lead. The one illustrated at the right was probably made some time between the Sixth and Eleventh Centuries in Byzantine Greece or Asia Minor. It is from an impressive little group assembled by coin and antiquities dealer Marc Bettinger.

The Catacombs: A Place of hiding and Worship For the Early Church
The Legend of St. Helena and the Sweet Basil
The Chi - Rho XP
The Christogram


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