Spitzer Cross
The Spitzer Cross is an enameled metal crucifix, made c.1190 in Limoges, in France, by an artisan known as the "Master of the Royal Plantagenet Workshop", and now held by the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work is made from copper, engraved and gilded, and inlaid with champlevé Limoges enamel, depicting Christ on the cross in tones of blue, green, yellow, red and white. It may have been made as a processional cross for the Abbey of Grandmont: similar Limoges enamel crosses are held in other public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum.

The cross measures . The white figure of the crucified Christ is depicted in a sinuous pose with head bowed to the left, nailed to a green tinted cross. The copper ground emerges through the enamel to pick out details of ribs and muscles, with a memento mori of a white skull below his feet. A blue loin cloth with green edging is tied about his hips, hanging to his knees. His rose face has a red beard, and reddish hair drapes down over his shoulders. The plain white skin of the Christ figure contrasts with the bright green, blue, and yellow colours of his halo and loincloth, and the cross. Above his head are two inscriptions, the Christogram "IHS" and the Chi Rho "XPS" (for "Jesus" and "Christ", respectively; that is, "ΙΗΣΟΥΣ" and "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" in Greek letters). The four ends of the cross are decorated with figures of saints and angels. 

The cross was owned by B. Meyers, and then acquired by the 19th century art dealer Frédéric Spitzer, after whom it is named. It was sold (lot 228) for 5,500 francs at the Spitzer sale held by the art dealers Paul Chevalier and Charles Mannheim in Paris in 1893, and acquired by the New York art dealers Arnold Seligmann, Rey, & Co. It was donated to Cleveland Museum of Art in 1923, by Jeptha Homer Wade II. The catalogue of the Cleveland Museum of Art describes it as the finest Limoges enameled cross to survive.

In its original form, the crucifixion scene of the Spitzer Cross would have been on one side of a processional cross, with a depiction of Christ in Majesty on the other side surrounded by plaques with the symbols of all Four Evangelists: the Tetramorph. Two plaques of the correct shape, thought to be from the reverse of the Spitzer Cross, are known: one depicting the eagle of John the Evangelist is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the other depicting the ox of Luke the Evangelist is held in a private collection. 
Q20460
crucifix
Concept
Q45656
Limoges
LOC
Q1747829
known as
PER
Q657415
Cleveland Museum of Art
LOC
Q2481648
champlevé
UNK
Q2913442
Limoges enamel
Concept
Q51636
Christ on the cross
EVE
Q255956
processional cross
Concept
Q1542121
Abbey of Grandmont
LOC
Q160236
Metropolitan Museum of Art
LOC
Q6373
British Museum
LOC
Q273383
memento mori
Concept
Q1134657
Christogram
MISC
Q151970
Chi Rho
TIME
Q302
Jesus
PER
Q302
Christ
PER
Q8216
Greek letters
Concept
None
Frédéric Spitzer
UNK
None
Paul Chevalier
UNK
None
Charles Mannheim
UNK
None
Arnold Seligmann, Rey, & Co
UNK
Q657415
Cleveland Museum of Art
LOC
Q21794020
Jeptha Homer Wade II
PER
Q255956
processional cross
Concept
Q972213
Christ in Majesty
TIME
Q472773
Four Evangelists
PER
Q2010254
Tetramorph
Concept
Q328804
John the Evangelist
MISC
Q128538
Luke the Evangelist
MISC
Q60741289
Spitzer Cross
MISC
Q60741289
Spitzer Cross
MISC
Q60741289
Spitzer Cross
MISC
1893-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1893
DATE
1923-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1923
DATE
+1190^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1190
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
instance of
collection
collection
named after
represents
has works in the collection