Ivory Tau Cross Head

2006AD1299_jpg_l. This is a head of an Anglo-Saxon tau cross in walrus ivory. The tau cross is a form of crozier head, named for its shape after the Greek letter T. The winged seraph is a reference to the vision of Isaiah in which singed seraphim adore God enthroned. This apocalyptic image links to the decoration of the other side, where the Agnus Dei evokes both the Eucharistic and Apocalyptic Lamb (John 1:29; Revelations 5:6-12). All these images are © V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London. These free low-resolution images are covered also under the museum's Terms and Conditions (http://collections.vam.ac.uk/information/information_termsandconditions). The full image collection is available at: http://www.vam.ac.uk and http://collections.vam.ac.uk/ where you can also order high resolution copies.