The 12th century walrus ivory carving, depicting the Deposition of Christ from the Cross, which has been acquired by the V&A.
Image courtesy of the V&A
The 12th century walrus ivory carving had been in the collection of John and Gertrude Hunt and had passed down to their heirs after they died in 1957 and 1995 respectively.
The Hunts worked as antique dealers and advisors, and built a collection of around 2000 works of art and antiquities which became housed in The Hunt Museum in Limerick, Ireland which they set up during their lifetimes.
The Romanesque carving of the Deposition from the Cross however was loaned to the V&A from 1982 to 2022. After a private sale to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was recently negotiated, it was blocked from export by the UK government at the end of last year with UK institutions given the opportunity to match the purchase price.
The V&A, which described the carving as “one of the finest and most important examples of English Romanesque ivory carving to survive”, raised funds via a £700,000 grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and £350,000 from Art Fund, as well as further donations from other organisations and individuals.
The sculpture will now enter the V&A's permanent collection and will be re-united with the only known surviving piece believed to be of the same ensemble, a fragmentary ivory carving of Judas at the Last Supper which is thought to have been discovered in Wakefield in the 18th century and given to the V&A in 1949.
Together, both carvings would have likely once formed part of a larger work showing scenes from the Passion of Christ.
The fragmentary walrus ivory carving of Judas at the Last Supper which is also owned by the V&A.
Image courtesy of the V&A
Artistic and cultural importance
The carving has been dated to c.1190-1200 and is likely to have been made in York. It shows the moment when Jesus’s body is lifted down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea.
The V&A said it was a “revealing example of the craftsmanship and taste at the highest levels of society in the north of England in the late 12th century” and added that “the Deposition has attracted praise for both its masterful skills of ivory carving, and its embodiment of feelings of human suffering, empathy, and compassion”.
As well as its qualities in terms of art and craftsmanship, it also provides an important insight into trade networks of the Middle Ages and the historic sourcing of materials such as walrus ivory.
Having survived the widespread destruction of religious art and imagery during the English Reformation, the museum described it as “exceptionally rare”. It added that its quality and condition meant it ranks alongside two 12th century Romanesque objects of outstanding national importance which are already part of the V&A’s collection: the Gloucester Candlestick, given to the Abbey (now cathedral) of St. Peter, Gloucester by Peter, Abbot from 1104-1113, and the Becket Casket reliquary enamelled with scenes from the life of St Thomas Becket.
Director of the V&A Dr Tristram Hunt said: “I am thrilled that the V&A has been able to save this elemental object of English art for the nation. In this small, sublime carving is captured a lost story of Christian culture, Romanesque design and medieval craftsmanship.”
