Florentine goldsmith, Crucifix (repository)

Author
Florentine goldsmith
Date
15th cent.
Collocation
Sala delle cantorie
Original location
Cathedral, treasure
Material
Copper, gold, wood
Technique
Intaglio, lamination, embossing, chiselling, gilding
Dimensions
Height: 55 cm; Width: 40 cm; Depth: 7 cm;

Crucifix in gilded bronze with small glass caskets containing relics on the arms, dating back to the 15th century. On the extremities of the Cross we see four characters often associated with Christ in these kind of artifacts. On the superior extremity God the Father is represented as a benign and majestic elderly man holding a book on which we can see the letters “Alpha” and “Omega”; in the two lobes of the central arms are Mary and Saint John, distraught at the sight of Jesus on the cross; and at the foot of the Cross is Mary Magdalene, her hair long and loose, holding a jar of the nard ointment that she used to anoint Jesus’ feet in the house of the Pharisee and planned to use on Easter morning when she visited his tomb. Above the crucified Jesus we see a pelican rending its breast to feed its chicks, a symbol of the Eucharist and of Christ’s sacrifice.

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Sala delle Cantorie