Sheffield Cross Shaft
- Gallery: Room 41
- Culture: Post-Medieval; Middle Anglo-Saxon
- Date: 9thC(early); 16thC (?;trough)
- Object type: monumental cross, trough
- Materials: stone
- Museum number: 1924,1015.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is the Sheffield Cross Shaft, a striking example of early medieval carving in sandstone. Originally part of a larger cross, it displays an archer hidden within the branches of a rich vine-scroll on its main face. Two sides are decorated with stylized vine-scrolls, symbols of Christ as the "True Vine" in Christian tradition.
Despite some damage, the intricate carving remains impressive, especially the detailed archer, likely representing the Divine Word. In the sixteenth century, the cross shaft was repurposed as a horse trough, hollowed out on one side. It was later donated to the museum in 1924. This work reflects the artistic and religious culture of the period while showing a later adaptation for practical use.
See it in person
Sheffield Cross Shaft is on display in Room 41 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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