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Clément Floch

Ethnographic coin necklace with large bronze reliquary - style cross - 19th to early 20th century, with engraved Christ crucified on wood core – Northern Greece.

A richly adorned amulet necklace composed of bronze, silver coins, and wood – crafted in the tradition of folk Christian devotion from the Balkans or Asia Minor.

The centerpiece is a large openwork bronze cross pendant (5.7 x 4 cm), formed in a stylized architectural design, reminiscent of church icon screens or reliquary crosses. Its structure is decorated with domes, arches, and granulated elements typical of rural religious metalwork.

Suspended from the chain are more than 20 silver coins of mixed origin and age, including:

Ottoman coins bearing sultanic tughras (the imperial calligraphic signature),

Spanish colonial coins, some visibly dated (e.g. Philip V, Carlos III),

Habsburg thalers and fractions, including pieces from Maria Theresa, Francis II, and others,

as well as a Greek 1 drachma coin from 1846 (king Otto) and regional coinage.

The coins were carefully pierced and attached to forged chain links, forming a rhythmic composition likely designed for both ornament and protection. Some show signs of oxidation or loss at the soldering points, consistent with authentic use and age.

What makes this object especially rare and symbolic is its inner wooden core, visible through the open spaces of the bronze cross. Close visual inspection reveals that the wood predates the bronze casing, and that it bears incised depictions of the Crucified Christ on both sides – simple yet powerful devotional images.

This hidden detail has contributed to folk legends suggesting that the wood might originate from the True Cross (Τίμιος Σταυρός). While such a claim is symbolic rather than literal, it underlines the deep sacred value attributed to the object by its original owners.

Weight: 162 grams
Cross dimensions: 5.7 x 4 cm (excluding pendants)

Provenance: Collected in Western Macedonia (Northern Greece) from a merchant family’s heirloom. Such necklaces were often used as protective amulets or ceremonial adornments, linking personal piety with regional religious traditions.

Greece

 Cross - Bronze - 1850-1900 

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Cross - Bronze - 1850-1900

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