Country Group: China, Japan and Korea

Item id: 6676

Very rare 16/17thC Japanese Iron Cross with Buddha. I've owned 3 other iron examples of this over the past 30 years, and seen one other at auction. I've also owned 2 bronze (or other alloy- a magnet does not stick) examples, one of which is still available on my site. I've been told they were used by early Japanese Christians, as they were persecuted by the Shoguns, and wanted to show that they still respected the Buddha. This particular example is from the estate of a former US soldier stationed in the 1940's in Occupied Japan. Stands a little over 9.75" tall by 7.75" wide, and is approximately .5" at it's deepest point. This is a fine example of its type.