Processional Cross (c. 1440–50): Art, History and Details

Processional Cross (c. 1440–50) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Pietro Vannini (Italian, 1413/14–1495/96).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This remarkable object, meant to be carried in religious processions within a great church, is an example of the high level of skill achieved by 15th-century Italian silversmiths. The cross was made from hammered, chased, and gilded sheets of silver attached to a wooden core. The figures are made in repoussé, a technique of hammering the silver from beneath to create a design. On the front of the cross is the figure of Christ flanked by the seated Virgin and Saint John, with God the Father blessing from above. The back of the cross includes the figure of Christ in Majesty at the center, with the Evangelists at the end of each arm.

Object facts

• Title: Processional Cross
• Date: c. 1440–50
• Creator attribution: Pietro Vannini (Italian, 1413/14–1495/96)
• Culture: Italy, The Marches, 15th century
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: silver, gilt-silver, and repoussé, over wood
• Dimensions: Overall: 72.7 x 61 x 12.7 cm (28 5/8 x 24 x 5 in.)
• Collection: MED - Renaissance
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1926.243

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Fliegel, Stephen N. Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009.
• Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.