A sculpture depicting the body of Jesus Christ being lifted from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea is now expected to remain in the UK.
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, also known as the V&A, has raised the £2 million (€2.385 million) needed to acquire a 12th-century walrus ivory previously earmarked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York.
“This intricate sculpture is considered to be one of the finest and most important examples of English Romanesque ivory sculpture that has survived,” the V&A said in a press release, adding that the Demolition of the Cross had been preserved “for the nation”.
The Met acquired the statue at a private sale at Sotheby’s, subject to the issuance of an export license.
However, the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which blocked plans to export the statue to the US, imposed a temporary export ban on the work in November 2023, giving the V&A time to raise funds.
The money raised includes a £700,000 (€834,000) grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and a £350,000 grant from the Arts Foundation.
After being on loan to the museum from 1982 until 2022, the statue will join the V&A’s permanent collection and will be unveiled to the public later this year, along with the only surviving piece believed to be from the same set, a fragmentary ivory statue of Judas. During the Last Supper. Together, the two sculptures would likely have been part of a larger artwork depicting scenes from the Passion of the Christ.
The statue dates to around 1190-1200 and was probably made in York, northern England, described in a V&A statement as “one of the most important medieval centers of artistic patronage, trade and religion in the United Kingdom”.
“I am delighted that the V&A has been able to save this elemental object of English art for the nation. This magnificent little statue represents the lost history of Christian culture, Romanesque art and medieval craftsmanship,” said Dr Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A. “I am extremely grateful to everyone who has generously contributed to securing this beautiful work for the national collection. »