Cross in a silver mounting with gilding and Baroque decoration

This cross was dedicated to the monastery in 1711 by “The Most Holy Kyr Nikephoros of Zitounion, from the island of Patmos”. It is a large cross that stands on a foot with has a 17th century style knot, not used as a finial but set about half way up the stem. Around the sides are arranged small icons depicting prophets and martyrs, surrounded by elegantly supported frames. On the carved wooden body of the cross, there are scenes of the Nativity and the Crucifixion and around them are set multi-figural scenes from the Dodekaorton. The silver mounting has bright gilded surfaces that alternate with ring-punched surfaces with the colour of the dull silver, thus creating a studied, harmonious two-tone effect. Baroque influences can be seen at the delicate relief scrolls and floral motifs, as well as the flowers with the large, waving petals. The work is a distinctive example of the new conception emerging from the beginning of the 18th century, when craftsmen began to depart from Ottoman models.