THE Bishop of Durham has unveiled an ancient artwork after a museum raised 21,000 in crowd funding to restore it.

The Right Reverend, Paul Butler, visited Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, where he revealed the 15th Century Passion Altarpiece which has been conserved and sympathetically redisplayed.

The artefact is famous for the hidden secrets on its reverse as it is made up of 12 oil-on-panel paintings by Master of the View of St Gudule and intricate wooden carvings by the Brussels Sculptors’ Guild, which form a sequence that tells of the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The museum launched the campaign to restore the artwork last summer as part of the Art Fund’s Art Happens platform, and appealed to the public to support their Kickstarter initiative to raise the funds.

It took just 60 days for the money to come flooding in for the project, which allowed researchers to explore how the piece would originally have been displayed, pay for the construction of a new frame and bespoke stand while also raising it to the required height for an altarpiece.

Some conservation of the carvings also went ahead while access to the paintings hidden from view is now possible as the shutters can be opened and closed to reveal the six paintings on the reverse.

The museum’s Digital Communications and Fundraising Officer, Alison Nicholson, who led the project, said: "I hope visitors will enjoy coming to see the restored altarpiece for many years to come.”

The project followed a previously successful campaign that allowed the museum to commission a conceptual neon artwork from British sculptor, Gavin Turk, to display on the facade of the building, after £6,000 was raised.

Bishop Paul said: “It was a huge privilege to be asked to share in the opening of the Flemish altarpiece. It is a stunning work of art, and a hugely impressive restoration.”