10th century AD. A large provincial bronze enkolpion reliquary cross featuring a hinged base and a suspension loop, the front is decorated with the incised image of Our Lord, displayed in the position of Lord of the Universe (Pantokrator) with the halo surrounding his head, at the four sides the Angelic Armies of the Archangels coupled, with the name of three of them (?????? = Michael, ?????? = Gabriel, ?????? = Raphael) still visible, all dressed in finely decorated robes; on the back side a second cross (stavros) inscribed inside the enkolpion and decorated with a spiral pattern, each arm of the cross with a protruding three pointed star. See Wamser, L., Zahlhaas G., Rom und Byzanz, Archäologische Kostbarkeiten aus Bayern, München, 1999, pp.200-202. 110 grams, 11.5cm (4 1/2"). From a private collection; formed 1965-1975.