Joseph of Arimathea from a Deposition Group. Culture: British (?). Dimensions: Overall: 3 7/16 x 1 x 13/16 in. (8.8 x 2.6 x 2 cm)
As Deposition Group: 4 13/16 x 3 9/16 x 7/8 in. (12.3 x 9.1 x 2.3 cm). Date: ca. 1125-50.
This group probably originates from a reliquary chasse or altarpiece. The English attribution is based upon comparisons with excavated metalwork and manuscript illuminations. Most English metalwork was melted down as a result of the break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 and the rise of Puritanism in the 1600s.