A Gothic Spanish silver processional cross
Anonymous
Barcelona, Spain; ca. 1400-25
Approximate size: 67 (h) x 31 (w) x 12 (d) cm
An elaborate, Gothic-Plateresque parcel-gilt silver processional cross fixed to a later stem and knop. The arms of the cross are elaborately engraved, flanked by crockets and terminate in polylobed finials.
The present cross may superficially compare with another cross of the same period and more elaborate, at the Museu Nacional d’art de Catalunya in Barcelona (Inv. 0122203). The elaborate realization of such crosses involved the meticulous casting, stamping, chiseling, punching, hammering and embossing of their master craftsmen.
The corpus, executed in repousse, represents the type of Gothic Cristo Vivo.
A hallmark impressed upon the finials of the cross (both front and back) represents the city of Barcelona and dates the cross to the early 15th century. Another silver processional cross from Barcelona, belonging to this Hispanic Society of America likewise features this hallmark (see Alejandro Fernández and Rafael Munoa [1992]: Marcas de la Plata española y virreinal, p. 104).
Condition: The wooden core, probably a later replacement. The stem and knop are likewise a later addition, affixed with soldered lead.
