Of Silver and Gold: Precious Arts in Lombardy at the Turn of the First Millennium

A typical expression of Greek-Roman culture, monumental three-dimensional sculpture was not included among the artistic forms promoted by early Christianity. The earliest traces of a revival of this technique date back to the 9th century and are limited to a specific theme: the Crucifix. The Lombard region preserves two among the oldest monumental crucifixes still preserved: the crucifix commissioned by Abbess Raingarda (in office from 963) for the monastery of Santa Maria Teodote in Pavia, and the one possibly commissioned by Bishop Leone (998/999-1026), for the Cathedral of Vercelli. Entirely covered in silver and massive in size, they are exceptional objects: both visual syntheses of the events of the Passion and objects of worship.

Focusing on the figurative, technical, material, cultic aspects, and the commissioning context, this paper aims to investigate the role and status of these two artworks from a dual perspective: that of their specific regional context, Lombardy, and that of the broader network of exchange, emulation, and circulation in creating/shaping tastes and ideologies shared across the Ottonian civilization.

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