Art Funded by you

The Lowther Cross

Unknown artist, 785–815

The cross-shaft is decorated on all four sides with a running vine-scroll in three varieties and was regarded as the best-preserved, earliest, and finest of a group of some dozen Lancashire and Westmorland crosses. On all of this group, vine-scroll decoration predominates. The treatment of the vine leaves and other details on the Lowther shaft relate it also to important depictions of the vine in manuscripts and metalwork, notably the Book of Kells, the Ormside Bowl, and the Leningrad Bede. The clarity and freshness of the ornament and its technical accomplishment suggest a familiarity with continental work.

More information

Title of artwork, date

The Lowther Cross, 785–815

Date supported

1967

Medium and material

Wood

Dimensions

159 cm

Grant

1000

Total cost

6000

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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