QUEEN MARY'S ANTIQUES

Evening Star, Issue 22442, 12 September 1936, Page 27

QUEEN MARY'S ANTIQUES

MOST REPRESENTATIVE COLLECTION IN THE WORLD VISITS TO OBSCURE LONDON SHOPS. Queen Mary possesses the most representative collection of antiques in the world, and many valuable pieces were added to it when she celebrated her sixty-ninth birthday. No matter whether you visited Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House, or the Scottish Royal residences, there you would find priceless treasures which the Queen Mother has collected. Marlborough House, London, which she adopted as her home, has already had many of her antiquea transferred to its magnificent aP Natural t ly, the arts of England figure prominently, but Japan, China, and India are also well represented among her treasures. When her Majesty celebrated her birthday anniversary last week several additions were made to the collection, for such an anniversary never passes without an increase in the number of her antiques. A few years ago it was found that the crown of King Theodore of Abyssinia was actually among her treasures in Windsor Castle. The crown came there after the fighting round Magdala in 1867. Her Majesty decided that it should be restored to Abyssinia, and it was sent back without cost to the people of that country. Recent Discoveries.

One collection of treasures to which attention may be drawn is unique. Both the late King and Queen Mary took particular pride in this, for it consists of water colours executed by King Edward’s great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who painted very prettily, and her efforts reveal that she possessed more than a little of the artistic temperament. The whole of one big Windsor apartment, the Van Dyck room, is given over to old silver-mounted furniture. Here are housed many fine specimens, such as tables completely overlaid with intricately embossed silver. These objects were presented to the ancestors of King Edward the Eighth by city officials. Some have been ■unearthed in the most unlikely places. A King Charles the Second cabinet was discovered in two pieces in a lumber room at Windsor a few years ago. Skilful restoration enabled .it to be made whole again for inclusion in the Royal collection. Back-street Purchases.

Of course, despite her keen interest in all the antique contents of the palaces, Queen Mary has favourite lines of pursuit. Enamelled ware, jade, and Waterford glass come under her special notice. She has also formed a notable collection of treasures associated with the tragic Mary Queen of Scots. During the last two or three years, before the death of King George, her Majesty introduced antiques worth many thousands of pounds to Holyrood House, in Scotland, alone. . And not only does she know the stories behind her antiques, but she could tell you where each is situated. “ I don’t knew, but I’ll ask the Queen —she’s sure to know,” was a common reply of the late King whenever a guest asked the location of a particular treasure. . , New objects have constantly been added as a result of the shopping expeditions undertaken -by her Majesty. Her visits to obscure antique shops m London, Harrogate, and elsewhere have been no mere chance excursions; they have usually followed the Queen’s hearing that some antique was for sole. Good Judge of Values.

Not long ago her Majesty heard that a certain dealer in a London back street had bought a fine lot of Waterford glass. She took an early opportunity of driving to the establishment and came back with several articles tor her collection. She is a good judge of values, too, and does not allow prices to be forced up simply because the purchases are being made by Royalty. During the last two or three years Queen Mary has encouraged her sons to devote some of their time to antique collecting. When the Duke of Gloucester recently showed her a treasure he had bought she asked how much he had paid for it. “ H’m! ' she explained with a smile when the Duke told her, “ vou’ve been robbed! ” the display of the various pieces has been carried out to definite plans, under the guidance of her Majesty. Ihe cases containing them are, in many instances, antiques themselves. Some of her collections of articles from the Far .East have been arranged to show the influence of Eastern art upon European art. Developments in. Continental art are similarly exemplified. For instance, a really fine collection of eighteenth centure enainelware shows the origin of the fashion in Germany during the days when Dresden was the centre of production. Then English antiques, decorated in the same way, demonstrate the development of this kind of art in Britain.

Tapestries and Old Lace. Collecting tapestries and old lace is a subsidiary, but nevertheless fascinating pursuit to Queen Mary. The older palaces—Holyrood House, in Scotland, and Windsor Castle—contain the chief collections she has made. The walls of several apartments arc hung with entrancing work accomplished by skilled needlewomen long years ago. . Beautiful silk embroideries, in which her Majesty has taken great pride, hang in the great central room of Buckingham Palace, too, and astute visitors may also notice there some antique vases formerly owned by the Duke of Orleans. And what sum could Queen Mary obtain if she had offered for sale the hand-painted wall paper which decorates the apartment known as the Yellow Drawing Room? But such a step is unlikely to be taken with these or any other of the Royal treasures.

When at Buckingham Palace the Queen had numerous old clocks to occupy her attention. They included one in the form of a negress’s head, two and a-half feet high, snowing the hours in ono “ eye ” and the minutes in the other.

Strange Experiences. Her Majesty could relate some strange experiences concerning the antiques over which she has presided during the last quarter-century. Some plate which oneo formed part of her collection disappeared during transit between Castle and Buckingham Pal-

ace. It was inadvertently sent unregistered, by ordinary carrier, and thieves took the chance to purloin it. Frequent consultations have taken place between her Majesty and experts in order that no opportunity to increase the scope and value of the Royal collections would be missed. Private purchase of rarities which come into the market have been effected from time to time. “ Who really owns all these treasures? ” it may be asked. Actually, though Queen Mary spent a large fortune during the lifetime of the late King in increasing the number of antiques within the British Royal palaces, she has always regarded most of them as additions to the ordinary contents of these Royal homes. Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and the other Royal houses, except Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, are now held in trust by King Edward. Thus, many priceless antiques, though' actually purchased by the Queen Mother, are to-day the property of the British nation.