A BYZANTINE-STYLE GARNET AND GOLD PHOS ZOE CROSS PENDANT
Possibly Cyprus or Greece, Mediterranean basin, 19th century or earlier

The gold sheet pendant designed in the shape of a Latin cross, with the horizontal arms shorter than the vertical shaft, encrusted with a garnet cabochon in high-collet setting in the middle of the front, the arms incised with chevrons, the reverse enhanced with applied gold wire ancient Greek letters creating a type of ancient crossword with the words PHOS (light) and ZOE (life) combined vertically and horizontally, proclaiming Jesus Christ as the source of both the light and life of the world, surmounted by a circular hoop.

2.6cm x 1.5cm

2.15gr.