Lalibela Cross

It is held by the Bet Medhane Alem, the House of the Redeemer of the World, a 12th-century rock-cut church in Lalibela.

The central cross has an elongated descending arm and flared ends surrounded by an elaborately ornamented encircling band.

Like many Ethiopian processional crosses, the bottom of the cross is supported by "Adam's arms", a motif that realistically or abstractly portrays the arms of Adam.

[1] On processional crosses they are draped with brightly colored pieces of cloth for festive occasions.

The cross was stolen in March 1997, but located in Belgium in 1999, when a dealer in Addis Ababa sold it to a Belgian collector for US$25,000.