Vatican Museums

This Cross in engraved, embossed and gilded copper, belonging to the “Treasury” established by Pope Leo III (795-816) in the Oratory of the papal residence at the Lateran Palace (dedicated to San Lorenzo, but referred to as the Sancta Sanctorum on account of the preciousness of the relics it holds), has been identified with the crux de smalto depicta mentioned in sources, in which there would have been minute particles or fragments of the True Cross of Christ. It is decorated on one side with brightly enamelled figures. Within the illustrated fields, seven episodes from Jesus’ childhood are depicted in chronological order from top to bottom and from right to left, providing a complete summary of the facts preceding the Redemption: the Annunciation and the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (upper arm), the Adoration of the Magi and the Flight into Egypt (transverse arms), and the Presentation in the Temple and Baptism in the Jordan (lower arm). The Nativity scene occupies the central field. The inscription in uncial Latin on the sides of the artefact identify Paschalis Episcopus (the first to assume the name) as the patron of the reliquary.