The Toro Monstrance is a masterpiece of 16th-century Spanish art, which was stolen from the Collegiate Church of Toro (Zamora) in 1890. After missing for decades, it was located at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, where it had been bequeathed in good faith. In 2005, the piece returned to Toro through a long-term loan agreement between the Diocese of Zamora and the British museum.
Currently, the Monstrance is transported between Spain and London for conservation studies. It is expected that, after a temporary stay at the V&A, it will return to the Collegiate Church of Toro (Zamora) in the summer of 2026.
To celebrate this cooperation between our institutions, the Embassy hosted a reception attended by historians, researchers, and conservationists specializing in Spanish art and goldsmithing. The Ambassador praised this cooperation, thanked the V&A for its willingness to collaborate, and expressed her delight that both the Spanish and British public, as well as experts from both countries, will be able to appreciate and study the piece.
Following the Ambassador's comments, a panel discussion about the work was held, featuring Sir Tristram Hunt, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum; Jonathan Ruffer, investor and philanthropist; José-Alberto Sutil Lorenzo, academic and parish priest of the Diocese of Zamora; José Navarro Talegón, art historian and a leading figure in the protection of the cultural heritage of the province of Zamora; and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, from the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute.