Cross of Lothair

[1] It is an outstanding example of medieval goldsmith's work, and "an important monument of imperial ideology",[2] forming part of the Aachen Cathedral Treasury, which includes several other masterpieces of sacral Ottonian art.

The cross takes its name from the large engraved greenish rock crystal seal near its base bearing the portrait and name of the Carolingian ruler Lothair II, King of Lotharingia (835–869), and a nephew of Charles the Bald.

[5] At the meeting point of the arms is a first-century AD sardonyx three-layered cameo of the Roman Emperor Augustus holding an eagle sceptre,[6] also mounted on a raised drum.

Another gem portrait of the Roman Emperor Caracalla had a cross and the name of Saint Peter added to it before use in metalwork for the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

[9] The second largest gem, below Augustus, was probably Lothair's seal and has his portrait with the inscription "+XPE ADIVVA HLOTARIVM REG" ("O Christ, help King Lothar").

Other gems on the cross have classical carvings on them, including an amethyst with the Three Graces and a lion in onyx, both of which are mounted with the images placed sideways.

[13] The Hand with the wreath was a common motif in mosaics in Rome, and also used in art associated with the early Holy Roman Emperors, including in illuminated manuscript portraits of themselves, to emphasize their authority from God.

The cross is an outstanding and moving example of the Crucifixion of Jesus, closely related to the slightly earlier life-size wooden Gero Cross in Cologne, which was a crucial work in developing the Western image of the dead crucified Christ, whose head is slumped to his shoulder, and whose sagging body forms a S shape, showing the marks of his suffering, here with blood spurting from the spear-wound in his side.