Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 41

A

newpermanentdisplayat
WaddesdonManoraims
toshedlightonbanking
magnatestheRothschilds,
the 19 thcentury’srichest
family.SarahMillington
reports.
WhentheNationalTrustacquired
WaddesdonManor,styledbyBaron
FerdinanddeRothschildinthe 19 thcentury
toresembleaFrenchearly 16 thcentury
chateau,itwasn’toverlyimpressed.Its
collection,encompassingFrench 18 th
centuryfurniture,Sèvresporcelain,English
portraitsandotherexceptionalartwentdown
considerablybetter,withthetrustlaudingitas
superlative.Thatprizedcollection–thejewel
intheAylesburymansion’scrown–isnow
beingcelebratedwithapermanentdisplay,A
RothschildTreasury.RachelJacobs,acurator
atWaddesdon,saysit’shighlyanticipated.
“Wehavequiteanambitiousschedule
throughouttheyearbutnowit’sallhandson
deckfortheTreasury,whichisrequiringquite
alotofconstructionandalotofcataloguing
andalotofworkintotheinterpretationand
usingdigitalinterpretations,”shesays.“It’s
ahugeprojectthatwe’reveryexcitedabout.
It’smorethan 300 objectsthataregoingon
displayinthislovelylittleroomupatthetop
that’sbeingtransformedintoatreasurywitha
goldceiling.Itwillbethiswonderful,special
feelingofwalkingintopuretreasure.
“Somethingsarefromstorage,whichis
reallyexciting,butthere’salsosomethings
thatwe’repickingfromthroughoutthehouse,
whereyou’llgetareallyclose-upsenseof
them.”
BaronFerdinandwasanavidcollector
andWaddesdonwaspurpose-designedto
househisfineexamplesofthedecorative
arts(that,andasavenueforentertainingthe
fashionableworld).Whenhedied,in 1898 ,
heleftthepropertytohissisterandonher
death,itpassedtoJamesdeRothschild,a

‘LordRothschildis

heremostweeks,so

it’sagreatthingto

havethatsupportand

guidanceaswell.The

Treasurycamefrom

him–itwassomething

hewanted’

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