In 2021, the AGO acquired a tabletop model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a medieval religious complex in Jerusalem built to commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion and entombment.
The model was made in the 1600s by artisans in Bethlehem who specialized in wooden objects inlaid with mother-of-pearl and bone. When it arrived at the Gallery, it revealed hundreds of years of use-including the detachment and loss of small inlaid elements as well as a layer of grime across the surface. Conservator Lisa Ellis worked with Curator Adam Levine to prepare the model for display.