Ethiopian Coptic Cross Amulet

Petal-like arms flare from a tight center, topped by a neat rolled loop.

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. Silver crosses of this kind were often made by hand-working or casting metal, sometimes from melted coins, which gave smiths a familiar and portable source of silver. Four arms fan outward with softly curved ends, the upper one narrow where it joins a cylinder loop. The surface is smooth and dark grey with a gentle shine, marked here and there by tiny scratches. It is 1.75 inches long and 2.25 high.

Simple curves doing all the heavy lifting.