Collection: Compton Verney

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The main body of the current collection owned by Compton Verney Collection Settlement, CVCS, (Trust Deed dated 14.10.1999) was acquired with financial assistance from the Peter Moores Foundation (PMF) whose founder was philanthropist Sir Peter Moores (1932-2016) and who financed the setting up of the collection. Items added since have been supported by CVCS where required.

  Sir Peter Moores travelled to Germany and Italy as a young man which ignited his interest in buying works which formed the basis of Compton Verney’s Northern European and Neapolitan collections. He became interested in Chinese works later in his life and began purchasing at auction, advised by experts in the field and the British Museum. Compton Verney’s folk art collection was purchased as a group in the 1990s to save it from being split up, sold and leaving the UK. The works collected by Enid Marx and Margaret Lambert were a donation from Enid Marx in the late 1990s. Portrait miniatures are the most recently acquired group and were a bequest from the Estate of Lady Grantchester, Sir Peter Moores’ sister. Works have been added by purchase or donation to all the collections owned by CVCS since they were initially acquired.

  The policy of CVCS will usually be to lend the collection to CVHC for display at Compton Verney but in some cases loans of either a temporary or a long-term nature to other organisations will be agreed following discussion with CVHC. All incoming and outgoing collection loans are managed by CVHC.

  All incoming loans displayed alongside the CVCS collection (either long-term or short-term) are made to CVHC in line with its curatorial and collections strategy.

  It is a condition of the loan from CVCS to CVHC that CVCS ensures CVHC has a sufficient number of qualified personnel who are able to discharge their CVHC obligations in this policy. Staff with direct curatorial responsibility should be equipped by qualification and/or experience to curate such a collection of works of art, holding, where appropriate, post-graduate qualifications in the history of art or collections management.

  Overall responsibility for the strategic direction of CVHC including programme and operational strategies resides with the CEO. Day to day responsibility for collections strategy, management, acquisitions and normal business in relation to collections is the responsibility of CVHC to make recommendations to CVCS to deliver in line with this policy and the overall strategic mission of CVHC.

  CVHC develops and manages collections and relationships with CVCS in line with staffing responsibilities and structure. Collections management standards for an Accredited organisation are adhered to at all times by the collections and curatorial team: Director of Programme, Collections Manager, Senior Curator, Curator and Curatorial Assistant. The CEO, Director of Programme and Collections Manager report at CVCS meetings as appropriate.  CVHC staffing structures will be in line with organisational requirements.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Current collections owned by CVCS and loaned to CVHC are:

  ACE Designated collections:

  Chinese archaic bronzes, cloisonne and pottery from the Neolithic period to the Tang Dynasty, designated in 2008.This represents one of the largest and most important collections of bronze ritual vessels outside China. There are 111 pieces in the collection with a very small number in storage including 4 works by contemporary artist Kurt Tong which reference ancestors and ritual. The collection includes 3 items approved for handling and used by groups of all ages under supervision. In 2024 new contemporary work will be acquired from the artist Gayle Chong Kwan as part of the 20:20 project, a national artist residence initiative led by The Decolonising Art Institute at University of the Arts London to diversify historic collections.

  Non-designated collections:

  Neapolitan works of art, principally from the period 1600-1800; including oil paintings, works on copper, marble sculpture, silver-gilt sculpture and coral decorative works. There are 52 works in this collection, around 5 in storage at any one time, and a drawer of a cabinet used in supervised handling sessions.

  Germanic and Netherlandish works of art principally from the period 1450-1650; primarily panel paintings and sculpture. There are 33 pieces in this collection and one or two in storage at any one time.

  Portraits and miniatures: Portraits from the period 1500 to 1820, including a bequest of portrait miniatures from the late Lady Grantchester. There are 93 works in this collection. This includes 73 portrait miniatures, with around 57 in storage at any one time. A small group of portrait miniatures are used in supervised handling sessions.

  Folk Art from the 19th and early 20th century, a mixture of objects and paintings collected by private collector Andras Kalman (1919-2007) and his wife Dorothy and acquired as a group. A few similar works have been added to this collection since the initial acquisition. This forms the largest display of its type in the UK. There are 176 pieces in this collection and only one or two in storage at any time.

  The Marx-Lambert Collection was bequeathed by designer Enid Marx (1902-1998) and comprising a small group of works by Marx and a large number of objects collected by Marx and companion historian Margaret Lambert (1906-95), which inspired Marx’s design work. There are over 434 pieces in this collection, including 70 donations in storage from Margaret Lambert’s executor Eleanor Breuning

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2024

  Licence: CC BY-NC