11th century AD. A processional cross fragment, with the engraved image of a saint-bishop with nimbus, clad in ecclesiastical dress of 10th-11th century (phelonion and sticharion), the right hand raised in prayer, the left hand holding a crossed sceptre (stavros), over his head the remains of Greek letters ?I?E?? (Kitheas) perhaps an abbreviation for Nikiteas, i.e. Aghios Niketas. See Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, items 168-185, for type. 120 grams, 64mm (2 1/2"). Ex central London gallery; formerly with Ariadne Galleries, New York, USA, 2009. The literary sources, first of all the Book of Ceremonies of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, give us much information about the multiple employment of crosses; as crosses for processions, manual crosses, altar crosses, standing crosses, blessing crosses, and crosses located in public spaces. The miniatures in important manuscripts, like the Menologion of Basil II, show in addition that these crosses were often made of precious metal and richly ornamented with jewels and precious stones, or richly engraved with religious images.