Jerusalem Devotional Carved Olive Wood Crucifixion Cross

Period: 1700-1800

Origin: Jerusalem

Medium: Ivory, Bone, silver, olive wood, MOP

Literature: These early pilgrimage souvenirs were produced in Jerusalem by Syrian craftsmen under the direction of the Franciscan monks. Using traditional methods and techniques they produced Christian artefacts in their own Middle Eastern style. Meant to be used as a private devotional aid to prayer, this cross was carved as a memento of Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion of Christ, which is contained within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is also supposed to contain a small relic of the true cross in a compartment contained inside the reverse.