A rare and highly important processional cross incorporating a Fatimid Rock Crystal jewel

Egypt and Europe, 10th Century and later

Footnotes

Provenance
Formerly in a private French collection, acquired in the 1980s in Nogent-le-Retrou in the Department of Orne from a member of the De Tunis family.



Cross-cultural Devotion and the Use of Fatimid Rock Crystal Elements in Christian Religious Objects

The medieval Mediterranean world was a dynamic arena of cultural exchange, where religious, artistic, and economic interactions often transcended the boundaries of creed and empire. One remarkable testament to this interconnectivity is the reuse of Fatimid rock crystal elements in Christian devotional objects, particularly between the 11th and 14th centuries. These Islamic artifacts, originally produced in Fatimid Egypt (969–1171 AD), were not merely reused for their beauty but were recontextualised to serve Christian liturgical and devotional purposes. Fatimid rock crystal carvings, primarily luxurious vessels and decorative elements, were incorporated into Christian reliquaries, altar furnishings, and liturgical items. Despite their Islamic origins, their fine craftsmanship and beauty was seen as worthy of divine service in some of the most important cathedrals and abbeys of Europe.

Fatimid Rock Crystal

Fatimid rock crystal carvings represent one of the highest achievements in medieval Islamic luxury arts. Produced in court workshops, these clear quartz vessels were painstakingly hollowed out and intricately carved using rotary drills and abrasives. Their transparent quality was prized both for its aesthetic appeal and its associations with divine light and purity.

With the fall of the Fatimid dynasty and the redistribution of its treasures, many of these rock crystal objects entered Christian hands through trde, as diplomatic gifts, and as the spoils of war, particularly following the Crusades and the looting of cities such as Alexandria and Constantinople. Once relocated, these items were often re-mounted in precious metals by Christian artisans and used as Christian objects of devotion. One of the most celebrated examples is the rock crystal ewer from the treasury of the Abbey of Saint-Denis in France, now in the Louvre (acc. No. MR 333). Originally produced in Fatimid Egypt in the 10th or 11th century, the vessel was fitted with an Italian gold filigree lid in the 11th Century and repurposed as a Christian liturgical vessel. Another important ewer is in the Treasury of San Marco, Venice (no. 80), and a further ewer is in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence (inv. No. 1917). These ewers both bear dedicatory inscriptions, the San Marco ewer to the Fatimid Caliph al-'Aziz (reg. 975-96), and the Palazzo Pitti example to the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim's general, Husain ibn Jawhar. A rock crystal crescent-shaped ornament inscribed with the name of the Fatimid Caliph Imam al-Zahir (reg. 1021-1036), with 14th century European mount, is in the Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg (KG 695). It is intriguing that these pieces were treasured for centuries in a Christian context despite the presence of Arabic inscriptions.


The Cross

Rock crystal crosses, such as the present lot, became popular throughout Europe from the 12th to the 15th Centuries. Hans Hahnloser, in his authoritative study, demarks a particular group, with elegant fleur-de-lis type terminals, as 'lily-crosses', which are mostly attributed to workshops in Venice (see Hans. R. Hahnloser, Susanne Brugger-Koch, Corpus der Hartsteinschliffe des 12-15. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1985, p. 46). Whilst it is likely that the upper cruciform section of our cross was produced, or perhaps replaced, at a later stage in the 18th or perhaps 19th Century, it still follows in this tradition. The presence of the earlier medieval gilt-copper ferrules, and of the Fatimid jewel, attest to the fact that the whole construction may once have been entirely of a 14th or 15th century date. The four silver mounts decorated with acanthus leaves, most likely 18th Century, are present to bind the separate rock crystal elements together, whilst the fifth, in the form of a flower, may be present to cover a hole which would once have secured the feet of a figure of Christ.

A simple rock crystal cross with limbs terminating in fleur-de-lis, which is perhaps the most similar in form to the present lot, is in the Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, and is attributed to 15th Century Venice (acc. no. Kg 63:287). An altar cross in the Schnütgen Musuem, Cologne, dated to circa 1400, has similar wide limbs to the present lot though terminating in trefoils (see Manuela Beer (ed.), Magic Rock Crystal, Cologne, 2022, p. 130, fig. 117). Another comparable cross from the 'lily' group is a fine example from the treasury of Erfurt Cathedral attributed to 14th Century Venice (see ibid, pp. 140-151). An altar cross in the Schnütgen Musuem, Cologne, dated to circa 1400, has similar wide limbs to the present lot though terminating in trefoils (see ibid, p. 130, fig. 117).

The Fatimid jewel itself is notable for its depiction of birds. Whilst the larger rock crystal objects typically depict animals (the San Marco Ewer, a lion; the Saint-Denis Ewer, birds), it is unusual to find figurative decoration on smaller objects. A number of small rock crystal bottles or perfume holders from Fatimid Egypt are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see Anna Contadini, Fatimid Art, London, 1998, plates 1-6). Five of these small vessels are carved with foliate and vegetal motifs, whilst one is carved in the form of a fish. It seems unlikely that our rock crystal element was a perfume bottle, as all known examples are tall and thin. Its spherical form would suggest that it was originally created as a bead, finial or adornment of some kind.