A Fine Byzantine Style Carved Boxwood Cross, Mount Athos, dated 1774. The cross delicately carved in relief, with the Crucifixion on one side, and the Baptism of Christ at the other side. Saints above and below. Hight without socle: 11,1 cm Hight with socle: 16,7 cm Especially in the Eastern Church these small crosses were in use for liturgical use, as protection against evil and for prayer. All of these very fine carved crosses were made by the monks of Mount Athos, using fixed old iconographic themes