Cloisters Cross: Its Art and Meaning

The splendid and intriguing ivory cross, probably made at Bury St.Edmunds and now widely recognized as a masterpiece of English Romanesque art, was virtually unknown when it was acquired for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1963. In this first authoritative monograph on the subject, Charles Little and Elizabeth Parker explore in depth the art and meaning of this remarkable 12th-century monument. The authors bring a wealth of new information to the questions of its origin and stylistic connections, its complex iconographical programme and its enigmatic inscriptions. Moreover, they put into a new perspective the cultural and intellectual background against which artistic patronage in England would have been exercised, and the theological and liturgical considerations which would have influenced the execution of the Cross in particulier. In this is the first authoritative monograph on the subject of the splendid and intriguing ivory cross, probably made at Bury St.Edmunds and now widely recognized as a masterpiece of English Romanesque art, its art and meaning are explored.