Antique 1mt Brass Medieval Revival Altar Corpus Christi Christ Crucified 19th C

This is a superb antique Medieval Revival gilt brass altar Corpus Christi of Christ crucified on a cross bottony, circa 1890 in date.

The quality of this exquisite church brass altarpiece is just as impressive as it's size. The details in the corpus combined with the Medieval Revival elements on this large cross make it very impressive. The Corpus Christi is very life-like, wearing a flowing linen cloth, his eyes closed and head down-turned. Complemented with the brass plaque at the top inscribed in Latin 'INRI', for ''Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum'', meaning ''Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews''.

It stands on a remarkable tripod base cast with suggestive stylized beasts. Pieces like these really are in a class of their own and as such work beautifully anywhere.

The craftsmanship is second to none throughout all aspects of this magnificent altar Corpus Christi which is sure to add an unparalleled touch of sacred art to your home.

Condition:

In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 96 x Width 69 x Depth 20

Dimensions in inches:

Height 37.8 x Width 27.2 x Depth 7.9

The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus, is the best-known symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix (a cross that includes a corpus, usually a three-dimensional representation of Jesus' body) and to the more general family of cross symbols, the term cross itself being detached from the original specifically Christian meaning in modern English (as in many other western languages).

The basic forms of the cross are the Latin cross with unequal arms (?) and the Greek cross (?) with equal arms, besides numerous variants, partly with confessional significance, such as the tau cross, the double-barred cross, triple-barred cross, cross-and-crosslets, and many heraldic variants, such as the cross potent, cross patte, cross moline, cross fleury, etc.

For a few centuries, the emblem of Christ was a headless T-shaped Tau cross rather than a Latin cross. Elworthy considered this to originate from pagan druids who made Tau crosses of oak trees stripped of their branches, with two large limbs fastened at the top to represent a man's arm; this was Thau or god.

Our reference: A1020

Internal Ref:

A1020

Date of manufacture : 1890