V&A secures $2.6 million ivory sculpture of Christ
The Victoria & Albert Museum, also frequently called the V&A, has raised $2.6 million to save a 12th-century walrus ivory carving of Christ. The purchase of the art finally came after complications in 2023 when the carving was unable to be transported due to a temporary export ban.
The museum have described the carving, called Deposition of Christ from the Cross, as “one of the finest and most important examples of English Romanesque ivory carvings to survive.”
The piece is beautifully crafted and incredibly intricate, especially considering its size and the period when it was carved during the 12th-century. It depicts Jesus Christ’s body being lifted from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea. While there is no set date for when it was made, it is estimated to have been created between 1190 and 1200, and it will likely have come from the city of York, in the north of England. It is also speculated that the piece was once part of a much larger artwork, showing multiple scenes surrounding the final few days of Jesus Christ.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York initially purchased the piece through a private Sotheby’s sale, subject to its ability to be exported from the UK. As an export license was deferred for a second time, the V&A was able to sweep in and match the fee the Metropolitan Museum of Art paid for the sculpture.
The piece had already been on a long-term loan to the V&A between 1982 and 2022. However, the museum has never officially owned Deposition of Christ from the Cross until now.
For decades, it was displayed alongside another similar surviving piece, an ivory carving fragment showing Judas at the Last Supper. This carving was given to the V&A in 1949. They both represent a very specific period in English art, as many of these pieces fell victim to the widespread destruction of religious artwork in the 16th Century during the English Reformation.
“I am thrilled that the V&A has been able to save this elemental object of English art for the nation,” said Tristram Hunt, the V&A director, in a recent press statement. The former Labour MP continued: “In this small, sublime carving is captured a lost story of Christian culture, Romanesque design and medieval craftsmanship. I am hugely grateful to everyone who so generously contributed to secure this wondrous piece for the national collection.”
