The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard’s widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.
Displayed at Hertford House, the main London townhouse of its former owners, the Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm.
Numerically, the European and Oriental Armoury collections total nearly two-and-a-half thousand objects, by far the largest part of the Wallace Collection as a whole.
The spectacular array of Oriental arms, armour and related works of art, chosen specifically for their fine craftsmanship, Eastern opulence and exotic beauty, were acquired mainly in Paris by the Fourth Marquess of Hertford prior to his death in 1870.
Objects of this kind were highly fashionable in Parisian society at this time. Most of the weapons here are Indian, Persian and Turkish, ranging in date from the 15th to the 19th century, while the armour is predominantly 18th and 19th-century Indo-Persian. The collection is widely recognised as being one of the largest, finest and most important in the U.K. The European Armoury, on the other hand, was assembled principally by Richard Wallace in the early 1870s, from the collections of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick and the comte de Nieuwerkerke. Meyrick was the founding father of the serious study of arms and armour in Britain, while Nieuwerkerke was Director of the Louvre under the Emperor Napoleon III.
Such distinguished and learned collectors as these sought only the finest, rarest and most important pieces, so the combination of the best of their acquisitions immediately resulted in the creation of a princely European Armoury of truly international importance. In terms of content, the European Armoury is a microcosm of 19th-century collectors’ taste. Historical interest, rarity, beauty of design, superlative craftsmanship, and richness of decoration were the guiding principles behind its formation. The earliest pieces of armour date from the 14th century, the earliest sword is 10th century, while the very fine historic firearms collection spans the 16th to the 19th centuries.
- Tour guide: Tobias Capwell (http://www.orderofthecrescent.com/capwell.htm)
- Duration : About one hour; unique tour of the arms and armour collection, which is one of the finest in the world, taking in also the wider subject of arms and armour as dealt with by artists working in all kinds of diverse media, in works of art all over the museum; including a rich scimitar of King Henry II of France (killed in a joust in 1559), a pair of pistols made for Louis XIV, and even a helmet and set of leg armour possibly made for King Henry VIII of England.
- Maximum group size- up to around 10
- Considerations about access for disabled – no issues
- Constraints – nothing unusual, photography is permitted.
- Dates by mutual agreement and advance arrangement but see next points:
- Monday-Thursday only.
- Any time (subject to arrangement) before the end of the year
- Location: – The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, W1U 3BN