Processional Cross (qäqwami mäsqäl)

14th century

The African Kingdom of Aksum (present-day Ethiopia) adopted Christianity around 330 C.E., not long after the religion was first legalized in the Roman empire. Its artists have demonstrated extraordinary creativity in making crosses, which the Ethiopian Orthodox Church links both to Jesus’s Crucifixion and to the Tree of Life mentioned in the Book of Genesis. This interpretation is reflected in the foliate and natural forms present in this group of processional crosses. The elaborate interlaced motifs here first emerged during the medieval era. The cross on the right features incised images of archangels, saints, and the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child.

The symbol of the cross unites Christian communities worldwide and, like their Italian Catholic counterparts, Ethiopian Orthodox priests would have originally carried these crosses atop staffs for use during the liturgy and processions.