ninme

Time to go back to the V&A and BM, again, apparently.

Telegraph - Britain gets ‘poor little rich girl’s’ treasures, By Nigel Reynolds

The gift of 100 rare and valuable Thai and Burmese treasures is remarkable enough. The source of the works, however, makes it one of the most exotic donations made to Britain’s top museums.

The British Library, British Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum will reveal this week that they are to share the 100 objects given by a charitable foundation set up by the will of the late Doris Duke, once known as “the richest little girl in the world”.

The colourful, eccentric and troubled billionaire died - she was possibly murdered - 12 years ago, aged 80, after a life that stands comparison with her eccentric countryman Howard Hughes.

The south-east Asian treasures, including paintings, furniture, sculptures and a rare Buddhist text written on pages made of ivory, were part of a fantastic and eclectic hoard amassed by Miss Duke, an only child, after she inherited $100 million (£550 million) from her father, James Buchanan Duke, the Lucky Strikes tobacco magnate, when she was 12.

Henry Ginsburg, a British Library curator, who negotiated the gift to Britain worth almost £1 million, was called to help catalogue Miss Duke’s enormous art collection, which was stored at her New Jersey ranch after her death.

He said yesterday that he could scarcely believe his eyes. “There was a barn the size of a museum filled with the collection,” he said. ”The shooting gallery was full and the indoor tennis court, a very large one, was covered entirely with manuscript chests. It was quite unbelievable.

“The foundation was overwhelmed. They didn’t know what they had and they simply couldn’t handle so much stuff.”…

Among the Duke gems coming to the British Library is an extremely rare 18th century Thai “book” with pages measuring 30in by 8in made of ivory inscribed with text for the ordination of a Buddhist monk.

The gift also gives Britain its first 18th and 19th century Thai manuscript chests, cabinets up to six feet tall decorated in red lacquer and gold leaf which were used in Buddhist monasteries to store sacred scriptures. Seven will be going to the British Library and one each to the V&A and the British Museum.

”So many of these objects are very beautiful and they will fill major gaps in British collections,” said Dr Ginsburg.

Doncha just love it when your favouritest museums get even better? Shame I’m broke.