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Byzantine Gold and Enamel Icon of the Crucifixion
A larger image of this Byzantine Gold and Enamel Icon of the Crucifixion. House of Wittelsbach, Bavaria, Germany.
Crucifixion enamel (known as the Goldene Tafel), a Byzantine enamel formerly part of either a reliquary or a book cover.
Gold and enamel, first half of the twelfth century, 24.3 cm x 17.5 cm x 0.1 cm, 430 grams.
Schloss Nymphenburg, Munich, owned by the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, Munich.
The enamel formerly belonged to the House of Wittelsbach, the ruling dynasty of Bavaria that was deposed in 1918. In 1934, it probably was in the possession of Rupprecht, the Crown Prince of Bavaria (1869–1955).
Source: Dumbarton Oaks
The Centurion is referenced on p26, MAA 89 Byzantine Armies 886-1118 by Ian Heath & Angus McBride:
Figures of this type seem to start appearing in the 10th century and are often thought to be Varangian Guardsmen. They only ever appear in biblical crucifixion scenes, however, and wear a type of headdress which in byzantine art is normally associated with Jews. But at the same time their rich panoply certainly suggests that artists may have used the equipment of guardsmen as their model, and interestingly this figure has a raven-like bird emblazoned on his shield, which could certainly associate him with Scandinavian origin.
