Antique Bronze-Tone Pectoral Crucifix with Skull and Crossbones, Circa 1890s-1920s

Bronze-toned metal and ebony pectoral crucifix with a cast corpus and INRI title.

Pectoral crucifixes, named for the Latin pectus, chest, were worn over the heart on a cord or chain, or tucked into the belt of the habit. A nun typically received hers at the ceremony of her final vows and wore it for the rest of her life, often being buried with it; priests and missionaries carried them for blessings and at the deathbed, where the crucifix was held before the dying during the last rites. Most were made in France and Germany between the 1880s and 1930s in this classic ebony and nickel style.

The skull and crossbones at the foot is a memento mori, Latin for "remember that you will die." It represents the skull of Adam, said to be buried at Golgotha, "the place of the skull," beneath the cross, so that Christ's blood would fall on the first man and redeem his sin. For the wearer it was a daily reminder of mortality and of the promise of resurrection.

Shows wear consistent with age.