{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O157713"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157713/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2024NX2613/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2024NX2613/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2024NX2613","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NX2615","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NX2616","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NX2617","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NX2618","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2024NX2614","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2010EE4688","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O157713/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O157713","accessionNumber":"LOAN:GILBERT.94-2008","objectType":"Altar gates","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Holy (altar) gates separate the congregation from the sanctuary which is only accessible to the higher clergy. In Christian Orthodox churches, altar gates are set within the iconostasis (a screen with icons or religious paintings). This example was made for the Church of the Exaltation of Cross, part of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, or Monastery of Caves in Kyiv, a preeminent centre of Orthodox Christianity in eastern Europe since the 11th century. \r\n\r\nThe inscription on the gates, referring to the reign of Tsarina Catherine II of Russia (1720-96), created confusion as it was assumed that those gates had been commissioned by the tsarina herself. This commission would have coincided with her stay at the monastery in 1784, before travelling to Crimea which had just been annexed to her Russian empire. Instead, these gates were commisioned by the Monastery’s Spiritual Council to Ishchenko. In 1785, the silversmith was also commissioned for a silver throne for the same church.\r\nIn the 1930s, the Soviet authorities had removed the gates and sold them as part of their organised trade of art and antiquities with Europe and America to support their economy.  In the process, the Holy gates were mistakenly attributed as Russian and their provenance became confused. Today, the gates are among the finest, perhaps only, examples outside of Ukraine and the former Russian Empire.  This magnificent pair of gates was acquired, together with another pair (LOAN:GILBERT.97-2008) by Arthur Gilbert at the start of his collecting career, and formed part of the Monumental Silver exhibition held at LACMA in 1973\r\n\nWe are grateful to our colleagues from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Preserve for their collaboration in cataloguing this object\n\r\n\r\nSir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. \r\n","physicalDescription":"Each door is made from one long sheet of silver. Tthey are, pierced, cast and embossed with flowers, scrolls and shellwork, with three oval relief panels arranged vertically depictingwith scenes of the bible, separately embossed, chasedast and bolted on to the main structure  on each gate. The central medallion where the two doors meet depicts Christ on the cross. All medallions are chased and bolted in separately. The medallions on the left gate represent, from top to bottom, the Annunciation, the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, and the Transfiguration. Medallions on the right represent the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, and the Raising of Lazarus. The central column, fixed to the right gate features three panels representing from top to bottom, the Elevation of the Cross, the Addoration of the Shepherds, and the Catherdral of the Dormition at the Kyiv Pchersk Lavra monastery with Saints Adtonius and Theodosius on either side. Two figures recline above the base columns, the left representing King David and the right Jesse his father, with two angels below supporting a banner. All text is engraved including the short inscription at the bottom centre. ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Ishchenko, Oleksii","id":"A22414"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"iron","id":"AAT11002"},{"text":"silver","id":"AAT11029"},{"text":"gilt","id":"x30367"}],"techniques":[{"text":"embossing","id":"AAT53826"},{"text":"piercing","id":"AAT231153"},{"text":"engraving (incising)","id":"AAT53829"},{"text":"gilding","id":"AAT53789"},{"text":"moulding","id":"AAT53134"},{"text":"","id":""}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Embossed, pierced, chased, and engraved partially gilt silver (silver-gilt) and iron structure","categories":[{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Architectural fittings","id":"THES48994"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2024NX2613","2024NX2615","2024NX2616","2024NX2617","2024NX2618","2024NX2614","2010EE4688"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"71A","id":"THES413997"},"free":"","case":"CA010","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"71A","id":"THES413997"},"free":"","case":"CA010","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"gate","id":""}],[{"text":"gate","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Kyiv","id":"x34596"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1784","earliest":"1784-01-01","latest":"1784-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"271","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"125.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"39749","unit":"g","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"inscription","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Inscribed weight (in Cyrillic script): 2 pounds, 17 founts, 2 lots\r\nMeasured 25/04/24 IW ","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"standard mark (75 percent silver)","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"maker's mark <i>AH</i> for Alexis Timothy Ischenko","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"marked on base and outer border of each door"},{"content":"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"With presentation inscription in old cyrillic:\r\nThese gates in the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross were made during the regin of the very Orthodoc Sovereign Empress Ekaterina Alexeievna and her heir the Orthodoc Sovereign Tsesarevich Grande Duke Pavel Petrovich and his spouse the Orthodoc Lady Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and the Orthodox Lords Grand Dukes Alexander Pavlovich and Konstantin Pavlovich and the Orthodox Lady Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, with the blessings of the Lord Archimandrite Father Zosim Valkevich of the Pechersk Lavra of Kyiv. At the expense of the good-hearted donors, in the presence of the Keepr of the Pechera, the Elder of the Cathedral, Hieromonach Markian. In the year 1784, the ninth day of June. The weight in silver [is] two pouds, seventeen founts, two lots. Ninety-five foreign chervonets [gold pieces of Dutch, Italian or Austrian origin] were used for gilding. \r\n","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"Provenance: \r\nThe Church of the Exaltation of Cross, Kiyv-Pechersk Lavra Monastery\nAround 1929, the gates leave the church and are moved into the Monastery’s Museum Repository. \n\r\n1930-35: Soviet authorities confiscate the Holy Gates from the repository for sale abroad\r\n\r\nPurchased from the Goldschmidt Gallery, Berlin\n\r\nSold by the Goldschmidt Galleries, Berlin to William Randolph Hearst Sr, San Simeon, California. In the Hearst collection from 4th November 1935 until 7th December 1960.\n\r\nSold by London dealers Ruby Black and S.J. Phillips to Peter Moores in November 1961 and kept in his collection until December 1972.\r\n\nAcquired by Arthur Gilbert in November 1973 from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London.\r\n\r\nJ & S Goldschmidt were a dynasty of Jewish art dealers. They enjoyed an outstanding international reputation and had even counted the Russian imperial family among their clients. In 1937, as part of a wider campaign to eliminate Jewish people from the art trade, the Reich Culture Chamber gave the company's directors, Julius and Arthur Goldschmidt, two months notice to give up their branches in Frankfurt and Berlin. By that time, they had already left Nazi Germany. Julius went to London, from where these gates were sold. Arthur immigrated to France, and eventually he and his wife escaped to Cuba.\r\n\r\nThis object formed part of the V&A's special provenance display 'Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting' (December 2019 - June 2021)","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Pair of Holy (altar) silver-gilt gates, silver-gilt and iron backing, Kyiv, Oleksii Ishchenko, 1784","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Mislavskii, Samuil. <u>Kratkoe istoricheekoe opisanie Kievo-Pecherskoi Lavry</u> (Brief historical description of the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery). Kyiv (Tipografia Akademii Kievskoi) 1975, p. 39"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Bolkhovitinov, Evgenii. <u>Opisanie Kievo-Pecherskoi Lavry s prisovokupleniem raznk grammat... </u> (Description of the Kyiv Pechersk Monastery including various offical documents...) Kyiv (Tipografia Kievo-Pecherskoi Lavry) 1826, p. 71."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"'Cathedral Gates in Silver Given by Catherine the Great'. <u>The Antique Collector</u>, vol.  32, 1961,  p. 66."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Petrenko, Marko Z. <u>Ukrainske zolotarstvo XVI-XVIII st.</u> (Ukranian goldsmithing, sixteenth to eighteenth centuries). Kyiv (Naukovo Dumka) 1969, pp. 139, 161."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hillier, Bevis. The Gilbert Collection of Silver.  <u>The Connoisseur</u>. June 1976, Vol. 192, No. 772, p. 121."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Schroder, Timothy. <u>The Gilbert collection of gold and silver</u>. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 167, pp. 613-616 (entry written by Alla Theodora Hall).  ISBN.0875871445"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Williams, Elizabeth A. <u>The Gilbert Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art</u>.  Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), 2010, fig. 24, p. 48. ISBN 9780875872100"},{"reference":{"text":"Jones, William Ezelle, <i>Monumental Silver: Selections from the Gilbert Collection</i>. Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977","id":"AUTH354722"},"details":"no.44","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Donahue, Kenneth, <i>A Decade of Collecting: 1965-1975</i>, Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975.","id":"AUTH348428"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Gilbert, Arthur. <i>Monumental Silver: The Gilbert Collection</i>, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1974","id":"AUTH354723"},"details":"no.31","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"https://web.archive.org/web/20230606004515/https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/concealed-histories-uncovering-the-story-of-nazi-looting"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Odom, Anne, Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938, (Washington, Hillwood Museum 2009)"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Minter, Alice. 'Gates from the Kyiv-Pechesk Lavra: A Case Study of Curatorial Practice at the V&A', <i>Supporting Decolonisation: Focus on Ukraine</i>, Ukrainian Institute, ICOM UK, ICOM Ukraine, Museums Association and British Council (2025), p.16-19."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[{"text":"Kyiv (city)","id":"x34596"}],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Jesus Christ","id":"N1515"},{"text":"Virgin Mary","id":"N480"},{"text":"The Apostles","id":"N1452"},{"text":"Gabriel (Archangel)","id":"N491"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[{"text":"","id":""}],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"religion (concept)","id":"x37580"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"AAT73711"},{"text":"orthodox","id":"AAT22034"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["LOAN:GILBERT.94:1-2008","LOAN:GILBERT.94:2-2008"],"accessionNumberNum":"94","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:GILBERT","accessionYear":2008,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Arthur Gilbert Number","id":"THES50383"},"number":"SG 48AB"},{"type":{"text":"LACMA","id":"THES57415"},"number":"M.77.2.22"},{"type":{"text":"LACMA Loan Number 2010","id":"THES57416"},"number":"L.2010.9.37a-b"},{"type":{"text":"Arthur Gilbert Number","id":"THES50383"},"number":"SG 322"},{"type":{"text":"The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House","id":"THES50384"},"number":"1999.25"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","gate [1]","gate [2]"],"assets":["2018LC0271","2019LP4633","2019LV1270","2019LW4066","2019LW0285"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-05-12","recordCreationDate":"2008-06-26","availableToBook":false}}