Object of Devotion

By Lisa Kirkham

Religious imagery has been part of people’s lives for centuries, and now the BYU Museum of Art offers visitors an opportunity to see a unique form of religious art that dates back to the early 1300s.

Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum, the BYU Museum of Art’s next religious art exhibition, comes from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, owner of the largest medieval alabaster sculpture collection in the world.

The exhibition features six sections, each addressing a different aspect of early Catholic beliefs that were represented through sculptures. Many pieces depict holy figures and narrative scenes, produced for churches, royal chapels, domestic altars and even people of modest means throughout England.

These pieces were created with one specific purpose in mind—to teach. Though times have changed since the Middle Ages, patrons may still take inspiration from the sculptures’ aesthetic and moral value.

The exhibition will open to the public on Thursday, May 31, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Jones/Boshard Gallery at the BYU Museum of Art.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. His Excellency Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United States of America, is Honorary Patron of the exhibition, which is also supported by a grant from The Samuel H. Kress Foundation.