Obverse
******
Reverse
******
Crucifijo de don Fernando el Magno y doña Sancha (Crucifix of King Feranando the Great of Castilla y León and Queen Sancha)
Unknown Artist
circa 1063
Real Colegiata Basílica de San Isidoro de León
León (Province of León. Autonomous Community of Castilla y León) SPAIN
______________________________
This is one of the greatest surviving medieval Romanesque legacies, being equalled only by the roughly contemporaneous “King of the Confessors” crucifix, the Bury St Edmonds Cross of Master Hugo. Interestingly enough, both are ivory carvings, and both are similar in style, hinting that their creators trained under a New Roman master in a Constantinople atelier… not surprising, as “The City” was the centre of civilised life in Europe at the time (it was by no means a “Dark Age” as “Enlightenment” commentators called it). Just as people flock to New York today, and as they went to Paris in the Belle Epoque, they went to Constantinopolis the Golden in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Nea Romana was the beacon of sophistication, artistry, and literacy for nearly a millennium, and this cross (and the similar Bury St Edmonds cross) show the marks of that influence…
BMD
Art in Faith 
You must be logged in to post a comment.