Export blocks save outstanding cultural treasures for the UK public
A copy of the warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots; a portrait of General Wolfe; a medieval decorated manuscript roll of arms and a brass astrolabe quadrant are some of the important cultural objects which have been saved for the nation in one year.
Published today, the 54th annual report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest reveals that eight items, worth just over £1.4 million, have been saved to remain in the UK. Following recommendations from the Reviewing Committee, which is serviced by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) the Culture Minister placed temporary bars on the export of sixteen objects of outstanding significance during the period 1 May 2007 to 30 April 2008. Objects placed on temporary bars include paintings, furniture, manuscripts and archives, sculpture, arms and armour, textiles, and scientific instruments.
Culture Minister, Barbara Follett, said:
"The Reviewing Committee process provides the last chance to save these vital pieces of our cultural heritage for the public to enjoy and learn from. Some, such as the lead ledger and the Gillows of Lancaster bookcase, are now back in regional localities with which they have a strong association."
Andrew Motion, Chairman of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council said:
"I am delighted that these important objects of artistic, historical and cultural significance have been saved for everyone to enjoy - every effort to ensure that items like these remain accessible to the UK public is hugely worthwhile."
The eight items that have been acquired by institutions and individuals in the United Kingdom include all three which had received a "starred" rating by the Committee to denote that every effort should be made to retain them. They are:
- A copy of the warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots purchased by Lambeth Palace for £72,485.50 (starred);
- A carved and marquetry bookcase supplied by Gillows of Lancaster purchased by Lancashire County Museums Service for £260,000;
- A 13 bore silver-mounted flintlock gun purchased by the Royal Armouries for £115,000;
- A portrait of General Wolfe by J S C Schaak purchased by the National Army Museum for £300,000;
- A ledger kept by a seventeenth-century lead merchant in the peak district purchased by Derbyshire Record Office for £3,770;
- An early English brass astrolabe quadrant purchased by the British Museum for £350,000 (starred);
- The Dering Roll purchased by the British Library for £192,500 (starred);
- A painting by J T Seton, Portrait of Alexander Dalrymple purchased by National Museums Scotland for £137,500.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport ministers and the Reviewing Committee were pleased to note significant grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund, the MLA/Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, the Friends of the National Libraries, charitable and private donations which made many of these purchases possible.
Copies of the report will be available from DCMS, please contact: Toby Sargent 020 7211 6276 or visit http://www.culture.gov.uk (longer link provided nearer the time).
Notes to Editors:
1. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by MLA, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria. Where the Committee finds that an object meets one or more of the criteria, it will normally recommend that the decision on the export licence application should be deferred for a specified period. An offer may then be made from within the United Kingdom at or above the fair market price.
2. The Committee's annual report was published today, together with the fourth annual report to Parliament by the Culture Secretary on the operation of the export controls on objects of cultural interest. A copy of the report can be downloaded from http://www.mla.gov.uk.
3. Matching funds could not be raised for seven items found to be of outstanding significance: paintings by Rubens, Batoni, Zampieri and Turner, busts by Cipriani and Guidi, and a sixteenth century printed pamphlet.
4. The MLA is government's agency for museums, libraries and archives. Leading strategically, we promote best practice to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all.
Public enquiries 020 7211 6200
http://www.culture.gov.uk
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH
http://www.culture.gov.uk
Published on: 2008-12-08
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