Antique ancient Byzantine, or Greek Orthodox, or Eastern Catholic, or Celtic Reliquary (locket) pectoral cross pendant. Handmade from bronze or similar brass-like alloy, has visible marks from a file tool of the coppersmith. Has original, beautiful green patina from the past centuries. The cross is double-sided. A small piece of the distal end of the horizontal crossbar of one side of the cross is broken off and missing, creating a tiny opening (please see the pictures).
Good antique condition, the Reliquary appears unopened (sealed), and the parts are not moving. Might still have an original relic inside. I have no means to conduct any analysis whether the seal wax is authentic, and whether there is any relic inside, so I see a MYSTERY HERE!
Could have been worn as a pectoral Reliquary cross (Engolpion, or Encolpion in the Eastern Curches) by a priest or a bishop. Exact age unknown, could be an artifact originating from the 10th- to 13th century. Relics of the True Cross became very popular from the 9th century, and were carried in cross-shaped reliquaries like this, often decorated with enamels, niellos, and precious stones. The True Cross is the name for physical remnants from the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. Many Catholic and Orthodox churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition believed to those of the True Cross. Saint John Chrysostom relates that fragments of the True Cross were kept in reliquaries "which men reverently wear upon their persons". A fragment of the True Cross was received by King Alfred from Pope Marinus I (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, year 883). Most of the very small relics of the True Cross circulated in Europe came from Constantinople, the city that was captured by Crusaders in 1204.
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