{"id":1107,"date":"2026-09-22T22:23:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/?p=1107"},"modified":"2026-09-22T22:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:23:16","slug":"the-living-legacy-how-bequests-shape-the-victoria-and-albert-museums-extraordinary-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/?p=1107","title":{"rendered":"The Living Legacy: How Bequests Shape the Victoria and Albert Museum\u2019s Extraordinary Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past twelve years, my tenure as a V&A tour guide has been defined by a continuous process of discovery. Every time I walk through the hallowed, cavernous galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, I encounter something new\u2014a detail missed, a provenance revealed, or a story waiting to be told. Yet, beyond the aesthetic brilliance of the objects themselves, I have come to appreciate the profound mechanism that allows the V&A to remain a dynamic, ever-evolving institution: the legacy. By frequently reading the small, often overlooked labels affixed to objects throughout our galleries, I have gained a deep understanding of how vital bequests are to the museum\u2019s mission. These gifts, whether they arrive as singular, precious objects or as generous financial endowments, serve as the lifeblood of our acquisitions program, ensuring that the collection remains not only enriched but carefully conserved for generations to come.<\/p>\n

It is with this sense of gratitude and stewardship that I have partnered with the museum\u2019s Legacy team to present a series of free, specialized tours during our upcoming Legacy Weeks. These tours are designed to pull back the curtain on the provenance of our holdings, highlighting rare and often unique objects that entered the museum through the generosity of individuals who chose to make the V&A a part of their lasting footprint in history. These stories are as varied as the objects themselves, ranging from the lives of affluent collectors to the quiet, dedicated contributions of history enthusiasts. Crucially, the V&A honors these individuals in perpetuity; every bequest\u2014whether it is a donated masterpiece or a financial contribution\u2014is permanently acknowledged on the object\u2019s label. In this way, the names of our donors are woven into the very fabric of the institution, ensuring that their contribution remains a living part of the museum\u2019s narrative forever.<\/p>\n

As we prepare for this year\u2019s Legacy Week, I have selected three particular objects that serve as cornerstones of my tour. Each tells a unique story of patronage, passion, and the complex, often surprising histories behind how our most prized acquisitions arrived at the museum.<\/p>\n

\"Discovering<\/figure>\n

Lady Cory\u2019s Bequest: The Art of the \u2018Trembler\u2019<\/h3>\n

Among the most dazzling highlights of our jewellery galleries is a magnificent spray of assorted flowers, crafted around 1850. This piece serves as a testament to the life and taste of Lady Cory (1866\u20131947), a woman whose own history was as vibrant as the diamonds she collected. Lady Cory was a devoted enthusiast of 18th and 19th-century jewellery, a passion that was closely rivaled by her love for music. Her financial means, which allowed her to amass such a formidable collection, originated from a brief but transformative three-month marriage in 1893 to Lord Cory, whose wealth was built upon the industry of coal mining.<\/p>\n

In the social circles of her time, Lady Cory was a fixture at the Royal Opera House, where she was frequently seen sporting her exquisite diamond pieces. The floral spray in our collection is a perfect example of the sophisticated craftsmanship of the mid-19th century. Remarkably, some of the individual flowers are set upon delicate, hidden springs. This engineering feat was intentional; as the wearer moved, the flowers would gently vibrate, catching the light and creating a dazzling, kinetic effect. In the parlance of the era, such items were known as "Tremblers." Upon her passing, Lady Cory demonstrated her enduring commitment to the museum by leaving her entire collection of diamond ornaments to the V&A. Understanding that a collection is only as good as its presentation, she also provided a generous financial sum to assist the museum in the proper display and conservation of her pieces. Her foresight ensured that her collection would remain a core highlight of the V&A, continuing to sparkle for thousands of visitors each year.<\/p>\n

Geoffrey Ackerman and the Turkish Tankard<\/h3>\n

The path an object takes to the museum is rarely a straight line, and the acquisition of a stunning late 16th-century Turkish tankard is a masterclass in collaboration and institutional memory. This piece, fashioned from translucent nephrite jade and intricately decorated with gold wire inlay, rubies, and emeralds, represents the first of its kind to enter a public collection in the United Kingdom. Historians believe the tankard was crafted for the personal use of the Sultan within the walls of the Topkapi Palace, marking it as an object of immense historical and artistic significance.<\/p>\n

\"Discovering<\/figure>\n

Its presence at the V&A is owed largely to the late Geoffrey Ackerman. A student of history and a profound appreciator of the arts, Ackerman decided in his estate planning to direct a portion of his residuary estate to his favorite charities, with 6% allocated to the V&A. This gift was instrumental, but the acquisition required further support to finalize. By combining Ackerman\u2019s bequest with the collective contributions of V&A members and the government\u2019s Acceptance in Lieu Scheme, the museum was able to secure this masterpiece. It serves as a powerful reminder that legacies often work in concert; when individual generosity is combined with institutional resources and public support, the museum is capable of acquiring world-class objects that would otherwise remain out of reach.<\/p>\n

The Hugh Phillips Bequest: A Notorious Character in Stone<\/h3>\n

One of the most engaging stories I share on my tours concerns a life-sized statue of Joshua Ward (1685\u20131761), sculpted by the renowned Agostino Carlini. The acquisition of this piece was made possible through the bequest of Hugh Phillips (1886\u20131972), an antique dealer based in Hitchin who was also a dedicated chronicler of Mid-Georgian London. Phillips left a specific bequest intended for the purchase of 18th-century works of art, a mandate that has allowed us to fill significant gaps in our sculpture collection.<\/p>\n

The subject of the statue, Joshua Ward, is a personal favorite to discuss because he represents the complex, often colorful nature of 18th-century life. Ward was a notorious "quack" doctor who achieved immense wealth and notoriety by peddling his famous "Pill and Drop," a remedy he claimed could cure every conceivable ailment. He was a larger-than-life figure, and Carlini\u2019s sculpture captures this audacity with remarkable precision. Interestingly, Ward had commissioned the statue himself, intending for it to be installed in Westminster Abbey to secure his legacy. His plans, however, were thwarted, and the statue underwent a long journey through various hands, including the Royal Society of Arts, before finally being acquired by the V&A in 1991. The statue now stands as a permanent tribute to a man who lived loudly and to the donor, Hugh Phillips, whose quiet generosity ensured that this piece of history was preserved for the public.<\/p>\n

\"Discovering<\/figure>\n

These objects are merely a starting point for the broader conversation I hope to facilitate during my upcoming tour. Each piece serves as a bridge between the past and the present, and between the donors who cherished these items and the public who now enjoys them. I will be discussing these acquisitions in greater detail, alongside several other fascinating pieces, during my free guided tour on Thursday, 15th October, at 14:30. The tour is a central component of our Legacy Week, and I invite anyone with an interest in the history of the collection and the people who make it possible to join us. It is an opportunity to learn not just about the art, but about the enduring power of a gift to shape the cultural landscape for centuries to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past twelve years, my tenure as a V&A tour guide has been defined by a continuous process of discovery. Every time I walk through the hallowed, cavernous galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum, I encounter something new\u2014a detail missed, a provenance revealed, or a story waiting to be told. Yet, beyond the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[1690,274,1688,789,275,1691,126,866,300,471,276,931,1689],"class_list":["post-1107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asian-art-and-culture","tag-albert","tag-asian-art","tag-bequests","tag-collection","tag-culture","tag-extraordinary","tag-heritage","tag-legacy","tag-living","tag-museum","tag-philosophy","tag-shape","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orientalplaces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}