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Altar cross

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probably made in Jerusalem

Altar cross
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This wooden altar cross, inlaid with bone and mother-of-pearl, was probably made in Jerusalem. It dates from the 18th century.

The hollow pyramid-shaped base is fitted with a door for relics. The front of the base has inlaid mother-of-pearl decoration including the arms of Jerusalem (five crosses) and the arms of the Franciscan Order (the arms and hands of Christ and St Francis of Assisi).

Devotional souvenirs like these from the Holy Land would have been made by Arab-Christian craftsmen working in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. They could have been purchased outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and at other holy places. However, many crosses and rosaries were also exported to Europe by the Franciscans and others.

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