Conversations: An Online Journal of the Center for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion
Object Narratives
Kongo Triple Crucifix
Cécile Fromont
Elaborately crafted artworks, jealously kept insignia of power, and piously cherished devotional paraphernalia, central African crucifixes illustrate the Kongo people’s deep and enduring engagement with the visual forms and religious message of Christianity.
Object Narratives
The Bamberg Rider
Shirin Fozi
A young king sits tall in the saddle, gazing intently at something in the distance. There is apparently nowhere for the steed to go: horse and rider are perched on a leafy pedestal that is just large enough to bear their life-size forms, and they have stood frozen there since they were carved into the fabric of Bamberg Cathedral in the thirteenth century.