2-721-237 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Branched altar cross, 14th-15th century, (1881). Etching of a silver parcel-gilt cross, the crucifix made c1350, and the figures and base made 1464-1474 by Hans Rutenzwig or his workshop, in Basel, Switzerland. The cross is decorated with enamels and pearls and shows the crucified Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St John. The cross was at one time part of the Basel Cathedral treasury. 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]