Christ is back on cross at British Museum after 'poetic' donation

It was broken apart more than a century ago to satisfy 19th century art collectors, a medieval altar-cross stripped of its central element - an enamelled plaque depicting Christ.

Since 1895, the ancient cross has languished in a storeroom at the British Museum in London, its incompleteness meaning it was never placed on view.

More than 20 years ago the missing Christ was identified as one of an impressive collection of enamels belonging to Edward de Unger, a British-based lawyer.

But only now are the two pieces being re-united after Mr de Unger decided to donate his precious Christ to the British Museum.

James Robinson, the curator of the medieval collections who will put the restored treasure on display in his medieval gallery tomorrow, cannot believe his luck. "It's quite poetic," he said. "It's so rare for the individual parts of an object that has been dismembered in that way to come back together. It's an absolute joy."

The reunion seems even more remarkable given what is known of the history of the Christ figure. It was probably ripped from the cross in the 19th century when there was a craze for small enamels and ivories which could be displayed as objets d'art in cabinets.

It was then probably sold in one of the auctions that ensured enamels were scattered throughout Europe and America.

Donald Johnston, the director of European sculpture and works of art at Christie's, said antiquarian interest in these objects reached its peak in the late 19th century and even into the early 20th. "A lot of these crosses and caskets and other forms of enamels got broken up. It is extremely difficult to put them back together again," he said.

By the 1930s, the cross was in the hands of a German baron. But its beauty attracted the attention of the commission charged with finding works suitable for the museum that Adolf Hitler intended to create in his own glory.

That project, of course, never came to pass, and the plaque found its way back to Baron Cassel who subsequently sold it to collectors who in turn sold the cross to Edmund de Unger in 1971.

Even then, it might never have come to the museum's attention but for research undertaken in France with the intention of publishing a giant catalogue of enamels, known as Limoges enamels from the French town where most were made. Scouring old sales catalogues for information, one researcher noted the similarity in shape and design to the missing plaque for the British Museum's altar-cross.

When Mr de Unger lent his prized collection of enamels to the museum for exhibition in 1981, the two pieces were compared and the match confirmed.

Yet only now, thanks to the surprise donation, has it been possible to restore the two pieces as one for public display. "We had to wait 23 years before it actually came home," Mr Robinson said. "It is a gift of note."

The Christ on the cross is a rare 14th century Spanish enamel, similar to the vast quantities produced at Limoges, but more distinctive. The plaque shows Christ floating, arms outstretched as if on the cross, against a blue sky studded with the sun, the moon and 33 stars, symbolising the 33 years of Christ's life on earth. The cross has the Virgin Mary on the left arm and what would be, by convention, a figure of John the Evangelist on the right but that is missing.

Mr Johnston said Spanish crosses of this type were "incredibly rare" with fewer than a dozen surviving of this quality. Around 98 per cent were from Limoges and could cost from a couple of thousand pounds to millions. Mr de Unger had been "very generous," he said.

Now the one question remaining is what happened to the figure of St John the Evangelist which was ripped from the right arm of the cross. Mr Robinson said it would be fantastic if the publicity helped its discovery. "It would be such a dream if St John did appear somewhere," he said. "I suspect it must be somewhere."