Ethiopian Coptic Cross Amulet

Speckled face and a little bird-head flourish where the loop meets the cross.

This coptic cross amulet is Ethiopian Orthodox, from Ethiopia, East Africa, and dates to the 19th or early 20th century. It is coin silver & fine silver. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians have long worn crosses in many openwork patterns, and the designs vary by region, workshop and the silversmith who made them. Solid, chunky outline with softly rounded arms, the surface pitted with small dark specks. Two tiny upturned prongs flank the neck beneath a loop. The metal has a pale grey patina and a few scratches. It is 1 inches long and 1.5 high.

Weathered, wonky, and wonderfully self-assured.