THROUGH THE GENERATIONS

Somerset-based antiques dealer Mary Hossack tells us about her most treasured heirloom

‘I inherited a collection of 19th-century – some possibly earlier – Ethiopian crosses from my mother who was born in Africa; they were given to her by an uncle who worked in Ethiopia for Unicef in the 1960s and 1970s. The ‘hand’ or ‘blessing’ crosses (‘yaedj

masqal’ or ‘yaburake masqal’) were the personal possessions of a priest and played a key liturgical role in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. My largest piece is a processional cross which would have been mounted on a wooden pole. It fascinates me that the crosses have been made in the same way since the 7th century and I love that the collection links me to past generations of my family, many of whom were avid antiques collectors.’

Ray applies English black and white webbing to the seat of a post-world War II farmhouse-style armchair

A collection of 19th-century Ethiopian crosses from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, including a large 19th-century processional cross (left)