LOMBARD GOLDEN CROSS – VI AND VII CENTURY – MUSEUM OF ART, MILAN

The use to decorate their clothes on the chest with small gold crosses, sewn onto the fabric by means of special holes, is typical of Lombards.
Their discovery of tombs in different historical periods and the diversity of the motifs decorating them with braided cords, beading and zoomorphic or anthropomorphic stylized subjects allow to date them with great accuracy.
The cross at the top left with stylized eagle dates back between 651 and 675, the top center, with simple plait of cords with matchboards dating back between 572 and 627, on the left, with longer arm and knotted braids dating back between 625 and 650, on the right, with simple plaits and bead motifs on the edge, dating back between 572 and 627 at the centre, at the bottom, with short arms and woven knots dating between 600 and 625, all from Fornovo San Giovanni or nearby.