Exploring bequests at V&A South Kensington

Why leave a legacy?

Bequests come to the V&A in numbers large and small and in various ways. Their stories are often fascinating. Serious collectors amass pieces throughout their lives and wish to find a secure and appreciative home when they can no longer care for them. More modest collectors may have a special piece that is fitting for the V&A collection, and such a bequest can reflect their passion for the museum. A financial legacy enables the museum to acquire objects to help grow and care for the collection, which might not otherwise be possible. All bequests feature the donor on the object label, in perpetuity, enabling their name to live on forever.

Having worked as a volunteer guide at the V&A for 25 years I have come to know the collection well, and many of my favourite pieces that feature on my Highlights Tours are the result of bequests. Let me share just three with you:

John Jones

John Jones was a collector who lived contentedly at 95 Piccadilly, London. He bequeathed his grand collection to the then South Kensington Museum (now V&A). Upon his death in 1882, a catalogue of his incredible bequest was published alongside drawings of the rooms of his house. One of these illustrations featured a delightful work table with a notable provenance that proved timely for the upcoming Marie Antoinette Style exhibition. Made in Paris in 1875 by Martin Carlin, the table demonstrates fine marquetry and the top consists of a Sevres porcelain plaque. A letter found in the work table drawer stated that the table was given by Queen Marie-Antoinette to Eleanor Eden, later Lady Auckland, in 1786. This is highly feasible given that Eleanor’s husband, Wiliam Eden, was in Paris at that time negotiating a trade treaty between France and England.

Lord Ampthill

Not all bequests are on such a grand scale but are nonetheless highly valued. One such bequest is that of Lord Ampthill who gifted a 12th century sculpture of Shiva, Lord of the Dance. “The perfect embodiment of rhythmic motion” is how the French sculptor Auguste Rodin described the smaller example of Shiva Nataraja that he had in his studio in Meudon. Lord Ampthill was Governor of Madras (today’s Chennai) from 1900 – 06 when he acquired the sculpture now in our collection and, like Rodin’s, it expresses movement and energy in a most compelling way. The surface decoration and patina on the bronze, made using the lost wax method, are admirable. Such craftsmanship was always undertaken as a form of religious devotion, as befitting the creation of a god.

James Yorke-Radleigh Bequest

My final object is a relatively new acquisition made through the James Yorke-Radleigh Bequest which provides for the annual purchase of a contemporary piece of silverwork. I find this Ever Flowing Sculpture simply sublime. Resembling a white pebble with golden ripples of water flowing over it, the work exemplifies Jessica Jue’s use of Keum Boo, a Korean technique of pressing 24 carat gold onto the surface of heated silver. At a mere 1.33mm thick, or rather thin, its form belies its weightlessness. Thanks to the Yorke-Radleigh Trust the V&A can ensure ongoing acquisitions from new generations of silversmiths.

I hope this goes some way to explaining the significance of leaving a legacy to the V&A.

I’ll be talking more about these objects, along with several others, in my free bequests tour on Thursday 9 October at 14:30 in Legacy Week. Please do come along to learn more about some of the fascinating bequests in the V&A collections.