Ivory figure: St Thomas Becket

This carving from walrus ivory depicts the scene leading up to the murder of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 by followers King Henry II. One knight holds an axe with which to break down the door of the Cathedral. There are two tonsured figures in the centre; the hole between them may have held a cross. The three figures to the front include an archbishop (or bishop) holding a staf…