Alanian imitation of byzantine reliquary crosses (eleventh to the early thirteenth centuries)

Abstract

The paper discusses a type of underwear bronze crosses discovered exclusively in the North Caucasus (the historical Alania area). The artefact comprises eight medallions at the ends of the crossbeams, each featuring two saints’ faces inscribed into two medallions, and the Crucifixion or the Mother of God Hodegetria in the centre. So far there are eight documented one-part specimens imitating reliquary crosses. No other cross of similar form is known but a processional cross originating from Constantinople. Perhaps the prototype of the crosses in question was of Byzantine origin, though the tradition of their making in Alania remains a subject of further research. these finds date from the eleventh through the early thirteenth century.

Keywords

• византия, алания, северный кавказ, кресты-энколпионы, кресты-тельники, подражания, ставрография