2-721-223 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Head of a Tau Cross, c1140-1150, (1881). Etching of a tau or T-shaped cross head, made in France in the mid 12th century, of walrus ivory inlaid with coloured pastes. It is carved on three sides with the signs of the Zodiac and various birds and animals. The shaft of the cross is missing. From "The South Kensington Museum", a book of engraved illustrations, with descriptions, of the works of art in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (formerly known as the South Kensington Museum). [Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, London, 1881]