A 16th century altarpiece, a painting with a view of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake and jewels linked to Queen Maria Pia of Savoy are among the state’s purchases for national museums and palaces in 2023.
The nine pieces – with a total value of 1.2 million euros – are included in the report by the Commission for the Acquisition of Works of Art for National Museums and Palaces, sent by the Ministry of Culture to the Lusa news agency following a request for an assessment of the year, and first reported by Público.
In its first year of operation, the commission – whose mission is to “propose to the state the acquisition of cultural goods of exceptional heritage importance, considered fundamental to the collections of national museums and palaces” – obtained an allocation of two million euros, with funding from the state budget.
In May last year, the Ministry of Culture had already announced the purchase of Chinese porcelain and a jewel belonging to Queen Maria Pia, for a total of 860,000 euros, to be incorporated into the National Museum of Ancient Art and the Ajuda National Palace, respectively.
The small Chinese porcelain vase, a gomil commissioned by King Manuel I (1469-1521) from Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521), was bought from the Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva Foundation for 825,000 euros, and Queen Maria Pia’s (1847-1911) jewel was bought from a private individual for 35,000 euros.
In the report with the sum of the pieces acquired in 2023, always based on proposals from the directors of museums, palaces and monuments, there is also a 16th century painting on wood altarpiece “Saint Ursula and Saint Lawrence”, for 108,909 euros, proposed by the director of the Machado de Castro National Museum in Coimbra, where it will be incorporated.
According to the commission, which operated within the scope of the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage – a body that will be abolished in 2023 to create two new entities: the company Museus e Monumentos de Portugal and a public institute for safeguarding heritage – a painting entitled “A view of Lisbon, from 1763, after the earthquake and before the Pombaline reconstruction works”, by Bernard de Caula (1763-1793), was also acquired for 29,417.17 euros, at the proposal of the director of the National Museum of Ancient Art, where it was incorporated.
“View of Belém with the Jerónimos Monastery”, a 17th century painting by Filipe Lobo, was bought for 100,000 euros at the proposal of the director of the Jerónimos Monastery/Belém Tower, Dalila Rodrigues, to be incorporated into the monastery.
A “Self-portrait of the Marquis of Montebelo with his children Francisco and D. Bernarda”, was bought for 48,796.98, and entered the Soares dos Reis National Museum in Porto, at the proposal of its director, António Ponte.
Other jewels are among the pieces acquired, namely a “half-adornment with diamonds”, for 17,099.60 euros, and a bracelet in gold, sapphires and diamonds, associated with Queen Maria Pia of Savoy, for 8,260 euros, at the proposal of the director of the Ajuda National Palace, where they will become part of the collection.
For the National Palace of Mafra, at the proposal of the director, Sérgio Gorjão, a silver coffee pot made by João Frederico Ludovice (1673-1752) was purchased for 35,000 euros.
Asked by Lusa why the overall value of the acquisitions was lower than the budget available to the commission, the Minister of Culture’s office said in an emailed reply: “With an annual allocation of two million euros, the aim of this commission is to acquire pieces that are relevant to the collections of the Museums and Monuments of Portugal and that fill gaps in the respective national collections.”
“To complete the range of acquisitions for 2023, we are still looking to conclude a very significant purchase process for a part outside Portugal that began in 2023,” he adds.
In its first year of operation, the commission was chaired by the then director-general of Cultural Heritage, João Carlos dos Santos, and by the directors of the National Museums of Ancient Art, Joaquim Caetano, of Tiles, Alexandre Pais, of Soares dos Reis, António Ponte, and of the Ajuda National Palace/Royal Treasury Museum, José Alberto Ribeiro.
