Marvel at the Renaissance treasures collected by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild MP (1839-1898), displayed in a beautiful new gallery at the British Museum.
The Waddesdon Bequest is a superb collection of nearly 300 objects, left to the Museum in 1898 by Baron Ferdinand Rothschild. It consists of exceptionally important and beautiful medieval and Renaissance pieces, as well as a number of 19th-century fakes. Together, they paint a fascinating picture of the development of the art market in the late 19th century.
Baron Ferdinand originally displayed the collection in the specially designed New Smoking Room at Waddesdon Manor, his mansion in Buckinghamshire, after which he named the Bequest.
Greatly expanding a collection inherited from his father, Baron Ferdinand purchased objects that exemplify the renewal of interest in medieval and Renaissance art during his lifetime. The collection was modelled on the courtly European treasuries (known as Schatzkammern or Kunstkammern) formed by princes and rulers in Germany and Austria in the 16th century.
To 19th-century collectors, these princely collections demonstrated power, wealth, knowledge and discernment - all of which can be seen reflected in the Waddesdon Bequest.
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