A Spanish or Italian rock crystal processional cross, 13th/14th century, possibly Catalonia

on later conical gilt-bronze mounted rock crystal base.

Some chips throughout. One knop possibly replaced. Wear to copper sleeve at base of cross. Associated base also with chipping and losses to outer edges, two bosses, and underside. Gilding worn.
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Fourteen pieces of quartz make up the present cross, which gives a dazzling, ethereal, and weightless impression as light refracts through the transparent crystal.  Crosses composed of drilled segments of rock crystal dating from the 13th and 14th centuries are found in a number of old Spanish treasuries.  Other examples are in Italian collections, including San Francesco in Assisi and the Musei Vaticani in Rome, in Châlons-en-Champagne, and in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Gaborit 2005, p. 112, no. 72, and Hahnloser and Brugger-Koch, 1985, nos. 56-78).  Most often associated with Catalan workshops, these crosses may come from various sources and an Italian origin is possible.

RELATED LITERATURE

Hans R. Hahnloser and Susanne Brugger-Koch, Corpus der Hartsteinschliffe des 12.-15. Jarhunderts, Berlin, 1985
Jean-René Gaborit, et. al., Regards sur l'art médiéval : collections du Musée du Louvre et des Musées de Châlons-en-Champagne, Châlons-en-Champagne, 2005