Folia archeologica 22.

Zsuzsa S. Lovag: Byzantine Type Reliquary Pectoral Crosses in the Hungarian National Museum

I 44 ZS. S. LOVAG to it.

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1 Among the persons identified by inscriptions St. George

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2 occurs most frequently, though the Virgin,

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3 St. Stephen Protomartyr

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4 and St. John

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5 are represented as well. The Orosháza cross was acquired by means of purchase and we have no nearer data as for its provenance. An almost identical cross is, however, known from Szentes-Szentilona, coming to light in the area of an eleventh century cemetery.

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0 One half of a reliquary cross (Fig. j. no. 2.) of a provenance unknown. (Inv. no. 61.95.B, - as for the inscription v. Appendix i

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7.) In the form of a Latin cross, with arms flaring towards the ends and terminating in straight lines. At the top and bottom of the vertical arms there are two hinge loops for fastening, one of them broken. In the centre of the obverse as well as at the end of each arm is an engraved bust without characteiistical features. The three busts stand on waved draperies, similar to tableclothes. The inscription on the upper arm engraved in Coptic characters is an abbreviation of the Virgin's name, those belonging to the busts of the lateral arms read (vertically) GAVRIIL and MIHAIL, i.e. the upper bust is that of the Virgin, the two side ones of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The fact that they appear together make the representation of a deesis probably, which would mean that the figures at the centre and on the lower arm might be Christ and St. John. H.: 7,8 cm; W. : 4,1 cm. The form, technique and the Coptic characters of the inscription assign it to the Holy Land type, we have, however, no knowledge of examples closely related to ours. We have no analogies either for the composition of the five busts, or for the rather uncertain iconography which we attribute but with the utmost caution to that of a deesis. One side of a reliquary cross (Fig. j. no. j). Szob-Vendelin. (Inv. 110. 1930. 104.2.) Similar in form to the former ones, the hinge loops are missing, the bottom of the lower arm is pierced by a later hole for suspension. The surface is quite smooth from wear. H.: 6,8 cm; W.: 4,1 cm. The cross was found in Grave 18 of the Szob-Vendelin cemetery, there was also a fragment of an iron knife in the same grave. The cemetery, partly uncovered, consists of 141 graves and was in use from the middle of the tenth to the middle of the eleventh centuries.

28 The surface of the cross, worn beyond distinction, gives no clues as for the once 2

1 Wulff, О., Altchristliche ... Pl. XLV.; Miiatev, К. R., op. cit. 82 -84., Figs. 70-73. 2

2 Muno%, A., op. cit. 162., Fig. 126.; Wulff, О., Altchristliche . . . 197., Pl. XLV. no. 930.; Korzukbiua, G. F., О pamiatnikah „korsunskogo delà" na Rusi. Vizantiiskii Vremennik 14 (1958) 132., Pl. I. nos. 1,3. 2

3 Found in Smyrna - Wulff, О., Altchristliche . . . 196., Pl. XLV. no. 924. 2

4 Found in Smyrna as well - Wulff, О., Altchristliche . . . 197., Pl. XLV. no. 927. 2

5 Miiatev, K. R., op. cit. 82., Fig. 70. 2

6 S

zéll, M., Dolg. 18 (1942) 131., Pl. X. no. G.;Széll, M., FA 3-4 (1941) 187., Pl. III. fig. A. 2

7 Owing to technical causes the original inscriptions are given in the Appendix, in text only their transcriptions in Latin characters. In the Appendix we attempted to given an idea of the position of the inscriptions on the crosses and of the types of the characters. 2

8 Török, G y., FA 8 (1956) 130., Fig. 6.