Cross
Author: Unknown
Date: 12th century
Material: Gilt copper (?)
Dimensions (cm): H 42,2 x L 32
Inscription: IHESUS, NA/ZARENUM/REX.IU/DEORUM
Provenance: Celorico de Basto, Igreja de Santiago de Gagos
Owner: Braga, Museu de Arqueologia Dom Diogo de Sousa
Inventory No.: MAS To D 3
The cross is decorated with geometric motifs on the obverse and on the reverse and, at the front, the upper stem has the inscription: “IHESUS, NA/ZARENUM/REX.IU/DEORUM” (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) engraved. On the obverse, it used to bear the figure of Christ, whose presence can be deduced by the simply traced outline and by the holes for the fixing pins.
This is a cross of great quality that follows a more evolved Romanesque model.