Art Institute of Chicago

Altar Cross

German, probably Brunswick (Braunschweig)

Date

c. 1325; foot: 15th century

Medium

Silver gilt over a wooden core; foot: copper gilt

Culture

Brunswick

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This silver-gilt cross with the figure of the crucified Christ was meant to be placed on an altar. Each arm of the cross terminates with a roundel containing the symbols of the four Evangelists: the angel for Saint Matthew, the lion for Saint Mark, the ox for Saint Luke, and the eagle for Saint John the Evangelist. These four images were cast from the same molds used for the Evangelist symbols that decorate a silver book cover made for a liturgical manuscript written in 1326, now housed in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin. This reuse of molds provides valuable insight into workshop practices under the patronage of Otto the Mild, Duke of Saxony (r. 1318–46).

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