The Lecture on April 14th 2010
Kensington Palace: Queen Mary's
drawing room 1817.
Queen Mary took enormous pleasure in her collecting.
She was described as a "museum curator manqué." This epithet sums up her
collecting attitude. Not one to add avant-garde objects to the collection,
she sought to re-organise, label and seek out items which had strayed from
the collection, particularly if the object related to the "Old Royal
Family."
The Lecturer - Nicholas Merchant
Nicholas's career has involved him with the principal
action houses and with his own book business selling reference books on
the decorative and fine arts. He now has a fine art consultancy company.
Nicholas has lectured extensively in the USA and UK, including at the
Victoria and Albert Museum. He led a NADFAS tour to the south of France in
September 2004. |
|
Shown in the photograph is
Queen Mary (1867-1953), grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Mary
was a manic collector of jewellery and other fine pieces. During the reign
of her husband, King George V (1865-1936), she vastly expanded the Royal
Collection, often from the houses of friends. Mary is shown here wearing
“the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara” which is also referred to
as “Granny’s Tiara,” which she gave to Elizabeth in 1947, the year she
married Prince Philip.
The Queen had an “emotional
lurch of the heart when she saw beautiful jewels,” but hated to pay for
them. On seeing something she coveted, she said, “I’m caressing it with my
eyes.” But it didn’t stop there. She acquired jewels, furniture, Faberge
animals, watches, and gold musical boxes by means that ranged from begging
to extortion to outright theft. |
