Cross Pendant

Jewelry

Vermont Historical Society

Name/Title

Cross Pendant

Entry/Object ID

L2024.3.37

Description

Silver cross in "Montreal" style with modern beaded chain. Silver cross has two sets of arms, both terminating in two lobes. Top of cross has three lobes with the middle lobe pierced. Foot of cross has a single lobe. Engraved floral design on arms and lower portion near foot.

Item Type

Pendant

Use

Used in Central Vermont

Context

The Montreal cross from a family with Native ancestry was shared with the old Abenaki Research Project as proof of a native lineage. The ancestral line traces to Franklin County, VT. It is a classic example of a silver pendant, believed to represent the dragonfly to some native peoples. This example is beautifully crafted of thick silver sheet with minimal incising on the arms and base. It is unmarked. It is suspended from a coeval string of blue glass tubular beads but has been restrung on artificial sinew.

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1780

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term

Pendant, Religious

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Object, Devotional

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Symbol, Spiritual

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Belief Symbols

Nomenclature Class

Personal Symbols

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Material

Silver