The Walrus Said: A Long Silence is Broken - Tapa dura

In the 1950's a mysterious Yugoslavian art dealer offered for sale a remarkable relic: an intricate cross carved in walrus ivory, dating from the 12th century. The cross, though small, was covered with the most beautiful designs and inscriptions in Latin and a form of Hebrew. This was the Bury cross, one of the greatest works of English medieval art in the world. In The Walrus Said Denis Blomfield-Smith has pieced together the incredible story of the making of this wonderful artefact by Master Hugo of Bury, its journey to the Middle East with Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade, its loss to the world in a grave in Hungary, and its re-emergence in the mid 20th century. Since being bought by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1963, the Cloister Cross, as it became known, has been the subject of controversy as the curator who purchased it believes that its beauty is marred by the embittered message it carries; condemning the cross as anti-Semitic and a medieval version of the swastika. Denis Blomfield-Smith firmly refutes this claim and believes that medieval art cannot be judged by modern standards. The Walrus Said tells an intriguing story with the passionately held belief that, in replica at least, the cross belongs where it was made: in Bury St Edmunds on the altar of the Cathedral.

Denis Blomfield-Smith was born in East Suffolk and served in the army in the Field and Horse Artillery throughout the world from 1939 to 1974 - attaining the rank of Brigadier. Since then he has been Director of the Red Cross in Hertfordshire and involved with charities for the armed services. Denis Blomfield-Smith has been fascinated with the story of The Bury Cross since he became involved with Bury St Edmunds Cathedral in 1994 and discovered a family connection with the cathedral dating back 250 years. Denis Blomfield-Smith lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.