Name/TitleStaffordshire hoard pectoral cross, Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, Hoard 588

About this objectPectoral crosses, such as this, were worn by bishops and other high-ranking Christian clergy as a sign of their status, hung on a chain or silk cord on their chest, as the name indicates. This one was among a hoard of 3,500 gold and garnet cloisonne items and nearly 4,600 gold and silver pieces, discovered near Lichfield in England in 2009, then part of the Kingdom of Mercea. It was probably deposited between 650–675.
Most of the hoard is martial, this being one of only two—or possibly three—crosses in the hoard.
As is the case with the Cuthbert cross [EXH10], this cross has a small space behind the central stone which may have been intended to hold a relic, although it is empty now.

Date Made7th century

PeriodAnglo-Saxon

Subject and Association KeywordsLiving in Belief

Subject and Association KeywordsCrosses

Subject and Association KeywordsRelics

Subject and Association DescriptionLearn more: Coatsworth and Pinder 2002; Fern et al. 2019; Vause 2022.

Medium and MaterialsGold and garnet

TechniqueCloisonne

Measurements6.61 x 5.0 x 0.4 cm.

Credit LinePotteries Museum and Art Gallery

Object numberEXH69: Hoard 588