Altar cross

An altar cross, metal, with trilobed arms, with a knot-"apple" on a stand. On the front of the cross is a depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on an eight-pointed cross. Above Christ's cruciform halo is an unfurled "scroll" with the letters "INRI" ("Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews"), above which is a depiction of the sun and moon amid clouds. Above the side arms of the cross are the inscriptions "IS" and "KHS" ("Jesus Christ"). On the left arm is a half-length image of the Mother of God, her hands pointing toward the cross. She wears a tunic and a maphorion with the stars of the Ever-Virgin, with a round halo around her head. On the right arm is a half-length image of John the Baptist, his hands folded on his chest, wearing a chiton, with a round halo around his head. Beneath the cross is a depiction of the Head of Adam. The reverse of the cross is lost. The stem of the cross is round in cross-section, joining the cross to the knot-"apple" and the stand. The knot-"apple" is flattened and ball-shaped, decorated with relief facets and translucent brown and green glass insets. The stand is tall, trumpet-shaped, with a scalloped, many-lobed edge, entirely covered with a floral ornament (palmettes, volute scrollwork, stylized flowers).

The cross belonged to the pre-war collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.