Processional crosses, shown here in a variety of designs, have openings at their bases for shafts or poles used to lift crosses up during processions. Photography by David B. Moore

Da Vinci’s The Last Supper and Michelangelo’s Pieta are widely known examples of early Christian art.When these Renaissance masters were painting and sculpting in 15th-century Italy, however, artisans in Ethiopia already had been creating Christian art for centuries.

Ethiopian works, which include processional crosses, illuminated manuscripts and painted icons, are as significant as more familiar early Christian art from Italy and Byzantium, experts say. Many metal crosses from the 17th and 18th centuries have survived. These and crosses crafted more recently have become increasingly collectible.

Ethiopia became a Christian kingdom in the fourth century. Historically, each Ethiopian church had at least one large cross, which was used in services, sacramental activities, and  for processions. “The cross occupies a central place in Ethiopian culture and worship,” notes C. Griffith Mann, former curator of medieval art at Baltimore’s Walters Art Museum, which owns one of the most significant collections of Ethiopian Christian art. Artisans in Ethiopia also made smaller hand-held crosses that were used by clergy for blessings and benedictions.

Both types of crosses are being produced today and often are modeled on traditional designs and crafted with 19th-century techniques, explains Mann, who is now chief curator of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Medieval artisans cast crosses in bronze or iron, or sometimes carved them in wood. Today’s craftsmen utilize silver alloy, brass or nickel. The simplest designs consist of a rudimentary horizontal bar placed above the mid-point of a vertical bar. Most crosses, however, are far more elaborate. Some feature painted or engraved depictions of Christ. Others incorporate looping or interlacing swirls suggesting a Muslim influence that may have come from Islamic communities in and around Ethiopia.
 

Both the cross itself and the painted icons inside the open upper door are examples of Ethiopian Christian art. Hand-held crosses still are used by clergy for blessings and benedictions.

The use of traditional techniques drew Mickey Meulenbeek to the crosses. Owner of Level 9 Gallery in Cave Creek, Arizona, she says her selection is imported from a friend who is a native of Ethiopia. “He told me that each family makes crosses for their own personal use,” explains Meulenbeek. “I became fascinated with the crosses’ history through my friend, and decided I wanted to offer them.”

Collectors often mount the crosses on stands and display them in groups. Combining different designs makes a grouping of three crosses more interesting, suggests Dottie Butler, co-owner of BlueCrate Findings, a retailer in Scottsdale. “They’re great for shallow niches or cases where you have width and height but no depth,” says Mark Bianucci, owner of Scottsdale interior design firm A Studio. “And a small cross would look gorgeous on top of a Christmas tree with lots of silver or handmade beaded ornaments.

“When I have used these in design, there is a definite connection between the client and the artworks,” Bianucci adds. “People who buy the crosses have a real feeling for them.”