Carved in relief. The cross’s hollow interior is lined with decorative marbled paper. This reliquary cavity is accessible via the sliding long side on the reverse.

…; collection Jonkheer Jacob Eduard van Heemskerck van Beest (1828-1894), The Hague, acquired en bloc by the Nederlandsch Museum voor Geschiedenis en Kunst, The Hague 1877; transferred to the museum, 1885

Object number: BK-NM-3917

The front of this reliquary cross bears a Corpus Christi carved in high relief. Christ’s mother Mary, here depicted as Mater Dolorosa, stands below with a sword piercing her heart. Carved in low-relief on the reverse are the emblems of the Passion. Adorning the sides of the cross are incised hearts. A small bone ringlet is affixed at the top of the cross. The reverse side of the cross can be slid open, allowing access to the hollow interior where relics could be stored (no longer present).

This rather routinely carved reliquary cross is typical of pilgrim’s souvenirs originating from the south-German city of Oberammergau. The cities' Passionsspiel (Passion Play), held every ten years, has drawn large numbers of pilgrims ever since the start in 1634. The Oberammergau crosses have retained the same form from at least as early as the sixteenth century and are characterized by the following composition: Christ on the Cross, Mary depicted as the Mater Dolorosa, and on the reverse, carved in low relief, the Arma Christi. The tops of the crosses are normally equipped with a securing eye made of ivory or bone. More elaborate versions also include a God the Father in the clouds, appearing at the top of the cross in front, as well with carved window openings providing a view of the relics stored inside the cross.¹¹Cf. Utrecht, Museum Catharijneconvent, inv. no. ABM bh497; H. Meurer and H. Westhoff, Christus im Leiden: Kruzifixe Passionsdarstellungen aus 800 Jahren, exh. cat. Stuttgart (Württembergisches Landesmuseum) 1985-86, no. 39; P. Le Blanc, Catalogus Museum Jacob van Horne Weert: Een handleiding tot het bezichtigen van de collectie, coll. cat. Weert 1986, p. 106.

Bieke van der Mark, 2025

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 272

B. van der Mark, 2025, 'anonymous, Reliquary Cross, Oberammergau, c. 1750 - c. 1850', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20035684