The Cloisters Cross MET DP102900 (cropped)

The Cloisters Cross MET DP102901 (cropped v2) (cropped)

The Cloisters Cross (also known as the Bury St Edmunds Cross), is a complex 12th-century ivory Romanesque

altar cross An altar crucifix or altar cross is a cross placed upon an altar, and is often the principal ornament of the altar. History Early Christians were wary of publicly exposing the cross or crucifix for fear of subjecting it to the insults of pagans, ...

processional cross A processional cross is a crucifix or cross which is carried in Christian processions. Such crosses have a long history: the Gregorian mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England carried one before them "like a standard", according to ...

. It is named after

The Cloisters The Cloisters, also known as the Met Cloisters, is a museum in the Washington Heights, Manhattan, Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City. The museum, situated in Fort Tryon Park, specializes in European medieval art ...

, part of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York, which acquired it in 1963. The cross was probably carved in England between 1150 and 1160. It is made from

walrus ivory The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...

and measures 22 × 14 in. (57.5 × 36.2 cm). It includes highly detailed carvings on both sides and a number of inscriptions. The imagery features the

crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consid ...

and the symbols of the Evangelists. The intent of its

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

is subject to debate.

Description

The carvings which cover both front and back sides include ninety-two intricately carved figures and ninety-eight inscriptions. The figures are only about one-half inch tall, and illustrate a number of

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

persons and scenes. Each side consists of a central circular medallion and three square terminals, all of which contain highly detailed carvings. The front has the

ascension of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the N ...

at top, his

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

on the left, and the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

on the right.Parket (2006), p. 147 The terminals on the reverse shows the symbols of three of the Four Evangelists:

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

(the eagle),

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

(the lion) and

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

(the ox), and contains a number of other depictions of

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

prophets. The now lost base presumably had

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

's winged man on the reverse, while Christ before

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famously p ...

is assumed to have been at the front.Jones (1991), p. 65 The

prophets on the reverse have

banderole A banderole (, "little banner") is a comparatively small but long flag, historically used by knights and on ships, and as a heraldic device for representing bishops. Bannerol, in its main uses is the same as banderole, and is the term especiall ...

s containing quotations from their books.

Interpretation

There is debate over whether or not these inscriptions are chosen with an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

intent. The

's website currently says: "Prominent among the inscriptions are several strong invectives against Jews. Though it is impossible to know precisely who commissioned this piece and with what aims, the cross certainly offers some indication of the anti-Semitism prevalent in England at this time. By the end of the thirteenth century, Jews were expelled from the country". This theme was developed in a book by

Thomas Hoving Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving (January 15, 1931 – December 10, 2009) was an American museum executive and consultant and the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early life He was born in New York City to Walter Hoving, the head of Ti ...

, the curator involved when the Metropolitan acquired the cross, and later Director. This was unkindly described in an academic review of Elizabeth C. Parker and Charles T. Little as "an autobiographical romance...written in

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

style", and doubt that the cross, a sophisticated theological object, was specifically designed for the purpose of either castigating or converting any member of the small Jewish population in England in the mid-twelfth century.

Provenance

The name of the sculptor is unknown. Thomas Hoving, who managed its acquisition while associate curator at The Cloisters, concluded that it was carved by

Master Hugo Master Hugo (fl. c.1130-c.1150) was a Romanesque lay artist and the earliest recorded professional artist in England. His documented career at Bury St Edmunds Abbey spans from before 1136 to after 1148. He is most famous for illuminating the fi ...

Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. However, beyond stylistic affinities there is no certain evidence to suggest that the cross was even made in England; although this is accepted by most scholars, other places of origin such as Germany have been proposed. Its provenance before it was acquired by the Croatian art collector

Ante Topić Mimara Ante Topić Mimara (7 April 1898 in Korušce – 30 January 1987 in Zagreb) was a controversial Croatian art collector and philanthropist. He donated his collection of more than 3,700 artifacts, ranging from the prehistoric to the 20th century perio ...

(1898–1987) is unknown. He sold it to the Metropolitan in 1963. The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

had wanted to buy the cross but eventually declined because of Topić Mimara's inability to prove that he had full title to sell the cross. Hoving reportedly stayed up drinking coffee with Topić Mimara until the British Museum's option lapsed at midnight, then purchased the cross immediately for £200,000.Watson; Todeschini (2007), pp.134–135

Gallery

Front

File:Cloisters Cross, Luke cube, front.jpg, Luke cube File:Cloisters Cross, middle circle, front.jpg, middle circle File:Cloisters Cross, John cube, front with high priest and Pontius Pilate disputing, cross title.jpg, John cube with high priest and Pontius Pilate disputing File:Cloisters Cross, Marcus cube, front.jpg, Mark cube

Rear

File:Cloisters Cross, Marcus cube, rear.jpg, Mark cube File:Cloisters Cross, middle circle, rear.jpg, middle circle File:Cloisters Cross, John cube, rear.jpg, John cube File:Cloisters Cross, Luke cube, rear.jpg, Luke cube

References

Sources

* Hoving, Thomas. ''King of the Confessors.'' NY: Simon & Schuster, 1981 * Hoving, Thomas. ''King of the Confessors: A New Appraisal.'' Christchurch: Cybereditions Corporation, 2001 * Jones, Bernice. "A Reconsideration of the Cloisters Ivory Cross with the Caiaphas Plaque Restored to Its Base". ''Gesta'', University of Chicago Press, volume 30, No. 1, 1991. * Parker, Elizabeth. "Editing the 'Cloisters Cross'". ''Gesta'', volume 45, no. 2; 50th Anniversary of the International Center of Medieval Art, 2006. * Parker, Elizabeth; Little, Charles. ''The Cloisters Cross.'' NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 199
Full online PDF from MMA
* Watson, Peter; Todeschini, Cecilia. ''The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities from Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums''. NY: Public Affairs, 2007 {{refend

External links

Picture at the Met websiteThe Cloisters Cross Research Papers : 1960-2000
The Cloisters Library and Archives, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Ivory works of art Medieval European sculptures Sculptures of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Altar crosses Individual crosses and crucifixes 12th-century sculptures Romanesque sculptures