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The Weston Altarpiece

The two panels of this altarpiece are all that survives of the material culture of the Hospitallers from the Clerkenwell Priory. Following the dissolution of the Priory in 1540, objects and records were dispersed and destroyed, and the buildings repurposed. These panels were rediscovered at Milton Abbey in Dorset, and purchased by the Order in 1932 for use in the Priory Church.

This object is on display

Object type: Paintings
Date: Production: 1470 - 1490
Artist: Rogier van der Weyden (1400 - 1464) (school of)
Subject(s): Heraldry
Knights Hospitaller
Religion and Devotion
Associated person: Commissioner: John Weston
Dimensions: Height x width x depth: 1280 x 430mm
Materials and technique: Oil on panel
Related place(s): Clerkenwell
Dorset
Themes: St John the Baptist in the Museum’s collections
References: Kelly, Gerald Festus. Flemish Art 1300-1700. London: Royal Academy, 1953-4.
Catalogue number 123

Hale, Tony. 'An iconographical study of the Weston Triptych to establish connections with Grand Prior Sir John Weston and the Sovereign Order of the Knights of St John?' Batchelor’s dissertation, The Open University, 2014.

West, Richard. "The 'Weston Altarpiece' in the Museum of the Order of St John, Clerkenwell." Master’s dissertation, The Courtauld Institute of Art, 2018.

West, Richard, "The 'Weston Altarpiece' in the Museum of the Order of St John, Clerkenwell." Burlington Magazine, 164, February 2022: 130–144.
Provenance: Purchased from the Hambro family, Milton Abbey Dorset, 1932
Exhibition history: Malte: Huit Siecles d'Histoire, Palace of Versailles, 23 June 1961-30 September 1961

The Order of St John in Malta with an exhibition of paintings by Mattia Preti, Painter and Knight, Museum of St John Co-Cathedral, 2 April 1970-1 July 1970
Catalogue number: 1876