Handcrafted in brass and gold plated, this Ethiopian cross features an intricate openwork design centred with deep-blue lapis lazuli, set in gold-plated sterling silver and suspended from brown leather.
Ethiopia adopted Christianity in the fourth century, making it one of the world’s earliest Christian kingdoms. Over centuries, the cross became a defining expression of Ethiopian Orthodox art and devotion. Ethiopian crosses are recognised for their complex latticework, interlacing lines, repeated cross forms and distinctive use of open space.
The elongated silhouette of this pendant draws from that tradition. Its finely pierced pattern allows light to pass through the metal, revealing the complexity of the design against the wearer. The smaller forms extending from its sides and base create a sense of symmetry and movement, while the repeating geometry suggests continuity, eternal life and the cross as the Tree of Life.
At its centre sits lapis lazuli, creating a vivid point of blue within the golden openwork. Lapis is a naturally formed rock composed mainly of lazurite, often accompanied by white calcite or tiny golden flecks of pyrite. Prized since antiquity for its intense ultramarine colour, it travelled through some of the world’s oldest trade routes and became associated symbolically with wisdom, truth, royalty and spiritual depth.
The gold-plated finish brings warmth and light to the historic silhouette, while the dark-brown leather gives it an earthy, contemporary character. Worn close to the heart, the pendant feels personal and quietly powerful.
Part of Echoes of Time, this original SuhaniMara piece brings together Ethiopian heritage, ancient mineral colour and modern design, intimate, symbolic and commanding.
