Art Funded by you

The Deopham Cross

Unknown artist, c640-685

Unknown maker, The Deopham Cross, c. 640-685, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Art Funded 2021
Photo: Norfolk County Council

This extremely rare seventh-century jewelled cross is one of only a small number of similar crosses that provide evidence of the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England to Christianity in the decades after the arrival of St Augustine in 597.

The cross was found by a metal detectorist in the parish of Deopham, Norfolk, in 2018. Originally of four equal-length arms, it now has three arms and a small projection where the fourth is missing. It is made of gold sheet, with decoration in beaded and twisted filigree.  

At the centre of the cross and at the tip of each surviving arm is a cabochon garnet set in a gold collet. At the top of the upper arm is a gold loop by which the cross could be worn as a pendant.  

Evidence of the use of cross-shaped jewellery in England at this date is extremely limited; this is only the 11th example recorded. Nothing is known about its owner, but the other jewelled crosses of this period are associated with high-status female burials, so it is probable that it belonged to an aristocratic East Anglian woman.  

The Deopham Cross joins the outstanding collection of Anglo-Saxon material at Norwich Castle Museum. 

More information

Title of artwork, date

The Deopham Cross, c640-685

Date supported

2021

Medium and material

Gold with cabochon garnet inlays

Dimensions

3.1 x 2.1 cm

Total cost

4000

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