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The populated scenes of the Dodecaorton, six on each face, the Tree of Jesse, and Christ as the Vine, on the sides, are carved in deep relief, and on several levels into the wood. The depictions of the Mother of God and Saint John are rendered in relief, painted with enamels, inside silver-gilt frames supported by winged dragons, and call to mind the top part of the templon. The mounting of the cross was crafted in Arta, and is adorned with elegant sculpted floral Arabesque motifs, stones, pearls, and coral, in similar fashion with the best samples of Ottoman art at the time. Both the iconography and the inscriptions on this complex work of art refer to major dogmatic principles.


Wooden carved core, silver gilt mounting with enamels, niello, corals, stones and pearls
Height 52.5 cm
Arta (Western Greece) workshop

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