Hölzernes, geschnitztes und lackiertes Kruzifix mit Darstellung der "Arma Christi"

Description

"Arma Christi" means "the weapons of Christ". The more precise translation would be "instruments of the Passion". The term refers to all the items and objects that play a role in the events of Holy Week - in the events described in the New Testament from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to his death on the cross on Good Friday and his subsequent burial. The individual instruments of the Passion refer vicariously to Jesus' imprisonment, mocking and scourging, or his death on the cross. Theologically, the factual testimonies of Jesus' suffering and death become testimonies to his victory over death as well as to the redemption of humanity through his resurrection at Easter. Thus the "Arma Christi" are indeed the "weapons of Christ" for his final triumph. In art history and folklore, the term is used and applied within the context of a vivid depiction of the crucifixion scene, in which, together with Jesus on the cross (as the central figure), the symbolically significant instruments of the Passion are depicted. The various Arma Christi crosses do not always use all the available symbols. In the object depicted, for example, the chalice from the Last Supper, the hammer for the nails of the cross and the ladder for taking the dead Jesus down from the cross can be seen. Large-format Arma Christi depictions are usually clearly visible on the walls of buildings or as sometimes metre-high monuments standing in the countryside or rural areas. Small-format ones, such as the Arma Christi cross shown here, are for domestic devotion.