This fine cross has been cut from a single piece of iron. It was made to be held in the hand and is known as a yaegg masqal.
The cross is a pattee cross with flared arms that terminate with quatrefoils. It is decorated on both sides with engraved line ornamentation and stamped with circles.
The base is decorated with a square that ends in a quatrefoil. It too is decorated on both sides.
The handle is rounded.
The item as an excellent patina.
References
Biasio, E., Majesty and Magnificence at the Court of Menelik: Alfred Ilg’s Ethiopia around 1900, Verlag Nueue Zurcher Zeitung, 2004.