St Peter - V&A Museum, Cromwell Gardens, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 29.771 W 000° 10.310
30U E 696309 N 5708797
This statue of St Peter, that is carved from oak, is on display in the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London. The statue was carved c1520 in Limburg by an unknown sculptor.
Waymark Code: WMW2DZ
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/01/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 0

The V&A Museum's website tells us about the statue of St Peter:

St Peter is shown dressed in full papal regalia, as the first Bishop of Rome, and holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven in his left hand. This sculpture was probably originally displayed on a console set on one of the pillars of the nave of a church. Such figures, both in wood and stone, were especially popular in the early 16th century in France and the Netherlands, and a comparable St Peter in limestone, probably from the parish church of Saint-Pierre in Pommard, Burgundy (now in the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut), illustrates how widespread this particular image of the saint became.

The style of this example suggests it comes from the South Netherlands (now Belgium), and its close similarity to an oak figure of Solomon in the Vleeshuis in Antwerp sems to confirm this theory.

Figure, carved oak. St Peter, wearing the triple crown, seated in a Gothic chair or throne. On his knees lies an open book, and in his left hand he holds two keys.

Wikipedia has an article about St Peter that tells us:

Peter is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is often talked about in the New Testament. Most of what we know about Peter comes from the Bible. It is not known when Peter was born. But the date of his death is about the year 64 CE. He died by being nailed to a cross in Rome. This type of death is called crucifixion. There is a legend that says that Peter asked to be crucified upside down, as he felt unworthy to die as Jesus did. Most historical sources only say he was crucified.

The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion, consider Simon Peter a saint. Roman Catholics believe that the Pope is Peter's successor. For this reason, he is the rightful head of all other bishops. Eastern and Oriental Orthodox also recognise the Bishop of Rome as the successor to Saint Peter and the Ecumenical Patriarch sends a delegation each year to Rome to participate in the celebration of his feast. In the Ravenna doumernt of 13 October 2007 the representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church agreed that "Rome, as the Church that 'presides in love' according to the phrase of St Ignatius of Antioch (To the Romans, Prologue), occupied the first place in the taxis (order), and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos (first) among the patriarchs. They disagree, however, on the interpretation of historical evidence from this era regarding the rights of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium."

The historical accuracy of the accounts of Peter's role in Rome is a matter of ongoing debate.

In art, he is often shown holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven (interpreted by Roman Catholics as the sign of his primacy over the Church), a reference to Matthew 16:19.

Peter was married according to the gospel of Mark. The name of his wife is unknown.

Associated Religion(s): Christianity

Statue Location: V&A Museum, London

Entrance Fee: Free

Artist: Unknown

Website: [Web Link]

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