Seven sacred works from Ukraine will be shown in the UK for the first time, with support from the British Council. 

The free display, Sacred Treasures from Kyiv, brings together seven sacred works, including key objects used in worship in the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition: an icon, a silver-bound altar Gospel — a liturgical book used in Christian worship — a diskos used to carry the Eucharist in Orthodox liturgy, and a silver-gilt chalice depicting the Crucifixion. Created in the Baroque period by Kyiv silversmiths, the works demonstrate the craftsmanship and spiritual culture associated with Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. They will be presented in the V&A’s Sacred Silver and Stained Glass and Silver Galleries alongside works from the museum’s wider collections.

Founded in the 11th century, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has long been a major centre of religious life, artistic production, learning and patronage. The display opens in a year that marks 975 years since the Lavra’s foundation and the centenary of the National Preserve.

“This display offers an opportunity to tell a story far greater than that of a remarkable group of objects. The silver Holy Gates, together with other treasures from the collection of the National Preserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’, reveal an entire chapter of Ukrainian cultural heritage that remains little known beyond Ukraine. Through these works, international audiences are introduced to the Ukrainian school of eighteenth-century sacred goldsmithing — one of the highest achievements of Ukrainian Baroque art. For us, it is especially significant that, through our partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum, this story will be shared with the world and presented in an international context as an integral part of Europe’s shared cultural heritage.” –

Maksym Ostapenko
General Director of the National Preserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’

Sacred Treasures from Kyiv builds on a multi-year partnership between the National Preserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’ and the V&A, centred on provenance research and the reinterpretation of two pairs of rare silver-gilt Holy Gates originating from the Lavra. Dispersed from the monastery during the Soviet period, the Gates passed through international private collections before entering the Gilbert Collection. Now held by the V&A on long-term loan from the Gilbert Trust for the Arts, they are displayed in the newly transformed Gilbert Galleries at V&A South Kensington and are the only known examples of their kind outside the Orthodox world.

Some of the works lent by the National Preserve were created by the same makers who worked on the Holy Gates. Presenting the Lavra works at the V&A alongside this renewed interpretation reconnects the Gates with their Ukrainian historical and artistic context after decades in which their cataloguing and interpretation reflected an imperial Russian framing rather than their Ukrainian origin and significance. The V&A worked collaboratively with the National Preserve ‘Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’, with further support from the Ukrainian Institute and ICOM UK, to reveal the full story of these gates, as part of wider international efforts to reassess how Ukrainian heritage held abroad is researched, catalogued and presented.

The British Council has supported the transport of the artefacts to the UK and the participation of Lavra specialists in curatorial research and professional exchange with UK colleagues. The Ukrainian Institute facilitates the partnership between the Ukrainian and British institutions and co-organises the project’s public programme. The project is also supported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom.

The project strengthens long-term collaboration between cultural institutions and professionals in Ukraine and the UK and contributes to the cultural ambitions of the UK–Ukraine 100 Year Partnership.