Bidspirit auction | BYZANTINE BRONZE RELIQUARY CROSS PLATE

BYZANTINE BRONZE RELIQUARY CROSS PLATE WITH INSCRIPTION - Ca. AD 1000 - 1200. A cast bronze half of a reliquary cross (enkolpion), hollow in form, with a pair of suspension loops at the top and a hinge catch at the base. The front is engraved with a standing orant figure, shown frontally with arms raised in prayer and clad in a long, cross-hatched robe. A Greek inscription is incised above the head.For similar see: The British Museum, Museum number 1929,0713.7.Size: 103mm x 60mm; Weight: 59gProvenance: Private UK collection; previously acquired on the German art market, Munich, in the 1990s.