La Cruz de Piasca

It is shaped like a Latin cross, with a walnut wood core lined with plates gilded and enamelled copper. The vertical arm of the cross widens at the feet, while at the top it has a straight finial, as is the case with the ends of the shorter arm. It still retains the stem that joined it to the pole and that served to keep it upright on the base.

It is dated to the thirteenth century, so it belongs to the late Romanesque. although it already has some Gothic details, such as the tilted head on the left and the the somewhat disfrontalized legs of the Crucified Christ on the obverse of the cross. The slight contortion of the hips and the fact that the feet are separated in angles give an effect of movement typical of the Gothic, in the same way as the the reflection of pain on his face conveys a greater humanity, as befits that art style.

Pieza del mes. Aula de Patrimonio Cultural (ES).

The breast has a more summary treatment, outlining through lines around the belly. The body is covered with a cloth of purity that reaches knee-length, fastened with a navy blue enamel belt decorated with circles, falling vertically marking the line separating the legs.

Above Christ’s head is a rectangular cartouche with the inscription IHS and, above it, there is a schematic sky. At the feet is a Vertical rectangle, gridded on the inside by lines scraped over the gold and wrapped in great wings that come out of a cloudy angel in azure blue. The angel rests on pointed arcades of three stories in number of four, three, and two, from bottom to top, as Mount Zion is depicted in some Beatos.

Pieza del mes. Aula de Patrimonio Cultural (ES).

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