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.
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