Keywords: Vintage Old Byzantine Cross Bass Pendant Constantine the Great w Candle Holders

Vintage Old Byzantine Cross Bass Pendant Constantine the Great w Candle Holders

Very special Antique Wall hanging Byzantine cross. Full of symbolism.

This Cross is showing Constantine the Great on top

The cross is in excellent condition. It measures about 27 x 16" or 69 x 42 cm tall. 

I little more about the history of this cross:

The Byzantine cross

In the Orthodox Church, the cross that has been seen by Constantine the Great (270/288-337) is a very important symbol. Before the battle at Saxa Rubra (Milvian Bridge) he is said to have seen in the sky a very bright cross ("bright as many stars"). The message that he's been heard was: In hoc signo vinces. There is a difference between this cross of victory (Constantine won the battle) and the cross of crucifixion. In addition, it is also a representation of the bright cross they believe that will appear in the sky at the end of the World (Matthew 24:30).
There are several different ways to represent brightness of that cross. One of them is with diagonal rays, the second is with the Greek letters IS HS NI KA (Jesus Christ is victor). The third way is with four fire steels. The cross with four fire steels is an old Byzantine/Orthodox symbol and should not be connected to the Paleologues (the last ruling family). It has nothing to do with four &#x0392 (Greek or Serbian Cyrillic alphabet).

The Byzantine double-headed eagle

How similar did the Byzantine eagle look to the Russian double-headed eagle, the supposed descendant of the Paleologues eagle?

Some background for it: Michael VIII Paleologue adopted this symbol after he had reconquered Constantinople from the Crusaders in 1261. It represented looking towards the East (Asia Minor, traditional power center of the Byzantine-government in exile after the IVth Crusade) and the West (newly re-conquered land in Europe).
The double-headed eagle had in the two centuries of Paleologue rule become identified not just with the dynasty but with the Empire itself and, more generally, with institutions and cultural ideas outside the Byzantine Empire that still remained centered on Constantinople.
Most obvious of these is the Greek Orthodox Church, centered in theory in Istanbul to this day, and so it is not surprising that the Church would use the flag.

Less obvious is the reason for its use by the Russians. In 1453 a flood of Byzantine churchmen and nobles fleeing the Ottomans ended up in Moscow, center of the last free major Orthodox polity. This more or less coincided with the adoption of the title of czar (Caesar, or Emperor) by the former Princes of Suzdal who had been ruling from Moscow and had united much of the Russian-speaking world. Moscow began to be referred to as "the Third Rome" (Constantinople being the second), and the Czars saw themselves as successors in the Orthodox world to the Byzantine emperors. Thus the adoption of the double-headed eagle by them.

The double-headed eagle is much older than Paleologues and Christianity, but in that time it became the symbol of entire Empire. Different colors of eagle had different rank. Some authors said that the gold eagle was reserved for royal family. Silver represented the second rank (despots, sevastokrators - the highest feudal title). Black eagles were used during the war. There again, yellow (gold) was reserved for the Emperor, all other ranks and units had different colors.

The Greek book entitled I Istoria tis Ellinikis simaias The History of the Hellenic Flag) mentions clearly the origin of the Double-headed eagle. The first double-headed eagle flag was made by Emperor Comninos. In the Emperor's region of birth (Cappadocia), a local superstition mentions a beast whose name was Hagka (pronounced "haga") and which was a gigantic eagle with two heads. Hagka would strike in the night stealing the livestock of the farmers and kill their owners.
Emperor Comninos, bringing some sort of superstition with him, or maybe just to show a fierce ruling dynasty, as well as an eagle that would protect both the eastern and western borders of the Empire, adopted it for his Empire.

RM

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Items I offer for sale are general antiques, Vintage or used merchandise. They may have normal/typical wear consistent with age.

Any significant damage will be shown in the pictures and mentioned in the item description.

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In case you are thinking about making an offer on this piece please consider this:

Like in most antique stores I can sometimes go to about 10% in giving discounts on items that linger longer on Ebay.

My position as dealer is very compatible I have to keep my prices low as possible. There is not that much room for negotiation.

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Gracias por comprar con nosotros y por favor tome un minuto o dos para retirar algunos de los otros artículos en esta tienda. Haré mi mejor hacer de esto una experiencia agradable para usted.

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