Worth £1 billion, a staggering gift of a world-class collection of Chinese ceramics has been donated to the British Museum by the Sir Percival David Foundation.
It is not only the largest gift in the institution’s 170-year history, but also the most valuable in UK museum history.
The gift comprises 1700 rare pieces, with a particular focus on Imperial porcelains made for the use of the Emperor and his Court. Highlight examples from the Sir Percival David collection include the David vases from 1351. Their discovery revolutionised the dating for blue and white ceramics. The collection also includes a Chicken cup used to serve wine for the Chenghua Emperor (1465-1487) and Ru wares made for the Northern Song dynasty court around 1086.
In a formal statement, the recently appointed director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan said, “These celebrated objects add a special dimension to our own collection and together offer scholars, researchers and visitors around the world the incredible opportunity to study and enjoy the very best examples of Chinese craftsmanship anywhere in existence.”
The Museum explained: “Sir Percival David (1892-1964) was a visionary British businessman whose passion for China inspired him to study the language to a very high level. Throughout his life he collected ceramics in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and China, building the finest private collection of Chinese ceramics.
“Sir Percival was determined to use his collection to inform and inspire people, and to keep it on public view in its entirety. It has been on loan to the British Museum since 2009 in the specially designed bilingual Room 95, where it has been studied and enjoyed by millions of visitors. Its bilingual online catalogue can be accessed all over the world.”
Moving the collection from the position of a loan to an acquisition – while not unexpected – is significant. Chair of the British Museum, George Osborne said: “This is the largest bequest to the British Museum in our long history. It’s a real vote of confidence in our future, and comes at a highly significant moment for us – as we embark on the most significant cultural redevelopment of the Museum ever undertaken.”
Last year, Artnet reported the British Museum announced a new ‘masterplan’ that will see the London landmark comprehensively redisplay its permanent galleries, while also providing much needed upgrades to the deteriorating infrastructure of its 170-year-old building. The project is forecast to cost around £1 billion.
The announcement of the gift falls on the 100th anniversary of Sir Percival David’s first trip to China.
In recent years, the Museum has fielded calls from Chinese officials to repatriate some objects held in its collection, which as Artnet reported, intensified after news broke in August 2023 that one of the institution’s own curators had stolen over 1500 objects from the Museum.
Over the summer, US historian Justin M Jacobs, reviewed historical documents relating to the development of the British Museum’s collection of Chinese antiquities. As reported by The Guardian, he found that the Chinese Government had “willingly and enthusiastically helped them remove these treasures from their lands” as part of a bid to improve diplomatic ties with the West, as well as to encourage scholarship into these objects.
Sir Percival David died in 1964.
