Rights Holder: Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
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PROCESSIONAL CROSS
Unique ID: ESS-0426E4
Object type certainty: Probably
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Medieval cast copper alloy figurine of the Virgin Mary. This is a tall slender figurine of a standing woman. She is draped in a mantle which covers her head. The woman appears to be holding a book in her right hand. Her left hand is raised (possibly in a blessing) but is broken off. A small scar on the top of the head indicates a broken-off nimbus. Traces of gilding survive on the front and the back. The figurine is rectangular is section. The base is an integral triangular shank with a blunt point. The upper circumference of the shank is decorated with two horizontal grooves. The facial features are worn. The folds of drapery are expressed by four vertical grooves to the front and five to the back.The object is more crudely made than some and it is also rather abraded. It has a reddish brown patina (dark green in places) and mid green corrosion product covering the abraded areas.
This figurine of the Virgin Mary was originally from a crucifixion group. It was designed to stand on one side of a crucifix (with St John The Evangelist on the other side). The group would have been used as a processional or altar cross. The book (presumably The Bible) that she appears to hold would be more usual for St John The Evangelist. The dating of such figurines is problematic but they are thought to date from the late 14th to 15th century. Only two others are known of in England (both from Norfolk) and two from Wales.
Height 85.98mm, width 23.92mm (max), thickness 14.19mm, weight 108.5g.
This object has been published as Wise (2010, 378; note 8).
Notes:
Seen by Philip Wise of Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service
Find of note status
This is a find of note and has been designated: County / local importance
Sub class: Blessed Virgin Mary
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1400
Date to: Circa AD 1530
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Height: 85.98 mm
Width: 23.92 mm
Thickness: 14.19 mm
Weight: 108.5 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st February 2009 - Sunday 31st May 2009
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: OEF 6252
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Surface Treatment: Gilded
Spatial metadata
Region: Eastern (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Essex (County)
District: Tendring (District)
Parish or ward: Elmstead (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TM0525
Four figure Latitude: 51.885852
Four figure longitude: 0.977392
1:25K map: TM0525
1:10K map: TM02NE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wise, P.J. | 2010 | Figures of St John from Late Medieval Processional Crosses Found in Essex | Essex | Essex Archaeology and History | 378 | note 8 |
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