V&A and the Met in tug-of-war over £2m medieval ivory

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) are both seeking to acquire a 12th-century walrus ivory sculpture, Deposition from the Cross. A few months ago Sotheby’s quietly arranged a private sale to the Met for just over £2m, subject to the work being granted a UK export licence.

The UK arts and heritage minister, Stephen Parkinson, has now deferred an export licence, which will give the V&A the opportunity to match the price. According to the government’s reviewing committee on the export of works of art, the Deposition represents “one of the most culturally and aesthetically significant objects” they have considered in the past five years. It is very unusual for the committee to give such an accolade.

The question is whether the V&A will be able to raise the funds needed to stop this important Romanesque sculpture going abroad. Dating from around 1190-1200, it was probably carved in York. The deposition scene, 18cm high, was originally part of an impressive ensemble of the Passion, or the death of Christ. This surviving section depicts Joseph of Arimathea gently lowering down the body of the dead Christ from the Cross.

Tim Pestell, an export review committee member and archaeologist at Norwich Castle Museum, describes it as “a truly remarkable object, both for its early date and its sublimely skilful carving”. Sandy Heslop, a medieval art specialist at the University of East Anglia, claims it is “the first expression of tenderness in a work of art”.

The Deposition is closely related to another fragment, probably from the same Passion ensemble, depicting Judas at the Last Supper. This smaller piece, half the height of the Deposition, was first recorded in 1769 in Wakefield, in Yorkshire, and was donated to the V&A in 1949. Together the Deposition and the Judas probably formed part of an impressive church altarpiece. No other fragments from the ensemble have so far been identified.

The Deposition was made from an unusually large piece of walrus tusk. UK trade in elephant ivory has been restricted since 2022, and similar restrictions are planned for walrus ivory. However, even when walrus ivory restrictions do come into force, items of high artistic, cultural or historical importance should be exempted.

Little is known about the Deposition’s provenance. It was acquired by John and Gertrude Hunt, who married in 1933 and were London-based antiquarian collectors and dealers. Gertrude Hunt had been born in Germany, which raises the question of whether the Deposition may have a Nazi-era provenance. However, as the sculpture is likely to have been made in 12th-century York, it has probably always remained in the UK. No spoliation claim has ever been made for it.

In 1982 Gertrude Hunt offered the Deposition on long-term loan to the V&A, where it remained until late 2022. In recent years it has been on show in the museum’s medieval galleries, along with the Judas fragment. The V&A, or indeed any potential UK buyer, now has until 2 February this year to match the Met’s £2m price. That deadline could be extended for four months if there is a serious attempt to raise the funds.

Paul Williamson, the former V&A curator who originally secured the loan of the Deposition to the museum in 1982, describes it as an astonishingly rare piece and “the most important English Romanesque sculpture remaining in private hands”. He adds: “If you hold it in your hands, it has the most wonderfully poignant character.”

A V&A spokesperson was unable to comment on whether the museum would try to acquire the Deposition but stressed that the object had been on loan to the museum for 40 years. They added: “We recognise the unique historical and artistic significance of this rare piece.” The Met’s press office declined to comment.