Painted Steel Arma Christi Cross with Sacred Heart, Rooster & Ladders

A freestanding devotional cross executed in painted steel and assembled with the full iconographic vocabulary of the Arma Christi — the Instruments of the Passion. A trefoil-tipped black cross rises from a stepped silver-and-red base, ringed by golden sunburst rays and a central Sacred Heart flanked by the pincers and hammer of the Crucifixion. Crossed crimson ladders form an X behind the upright, with the lance and sponge-on-a-reed leaning at the proper-right arm. A yellow chalice marks the lower shaft, and a small yellow rooster — the cock that crowed at Peter's denial — perches at the foot above a silver column fragment.

Folk crosses of this type, often called cruces de la Pasión or cruces de ánimas, were made throughout Latin America and southern Europe as private devotional objects, compressing the entire narrative of Good Friday into a single sculptural emblem. The deliberate, almost graphic palette — black, oxblood, mustard yellow, silver leaf — and the cleanly cut sheet-steel emblems give the piece a strong modern presence while preserving the centuries-old symbolic program.

CONDITION

Good overall with minor paint wear and light surface oxidation at a few solder points. Sturdy construction with no remarkable damage; all emblems secure. Honest age-appropriate handling marks to the painted base.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 24" H × 12 1/4" W × 4 1/2" D
• Weight: 4 lbs
• Construction: Welded steel, hand-painted
• Marks: Unmarked
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included