The scene depicts the moment immediately following the Descent from the Cross. In the foreground, the figures of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus support the lifeless body of Christ. In the background are John, Mary (who is being comforted by John), and Mary of Cleophas, who raises her right hand. Between these two planes, kneeling, is the figure of Mary Magdalene, her expression one of profound sorrow.
On the rectangular panel containing the scene, carved from a separate ivory piece in the shape of a semicircular arch, are the figures of the Holy Spirit, depicted as a dove with outstretched wings, a pair of angels, and clouds.
The composition is conceived in a distinctly Baroque style, evident in the intricate arrangement and the pathos expressed in the faces of the figures.
The ivory piece is housed in an ebonized wooden cabinet measuring 66 x 38.5 cm, designed as an altarpiece. It consists of a predella, a main body (containing the ivory relief described), flanked by bronze and silver volutes, and an attic. This attic is conceived as a double, broken pediment: the central one, triangular in shape, opens within a curved, broken pediment.
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