Nottinghamshire aristocrats' unseen collection to go on display

A painting of Lady Margaret Stuart, Countess of Nottingham, is one of many in the Portland Collection

Artworks and unusual objects collected over 400 years by an aristocratic family are to go on display.

The items from the Portland Collection include rare Tudor and Jacobean portraits, jewellery and tapestries.

The pieces will make up an exhibition which is to open at Welbeck Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, next year.

The vast and varied collection was acquired over centuries by the Cavendish family which has owned the Welbeck Estate since the 17th Century.

Highlights of the exhibition, set up by the Harley Foundation, include a Michelangelo painting - Madonna of Silence - and the pearl earring worn by King Charles I at his execution after the English Civil War.

These ornate silver wine fountains were made for William of Orange

Parts of the collection are being recalled from loans to museums around the country to make up the exhibition but organisers said many items had never been on display before.

Director of The Harley Foundation Lisa Gee described the collection as "world class" - particularly the portraits.

She said: "Historic portraits were almost always flattering, filtered images which are like the social media of their day but behind the gleaming fabrics and jewels were fully rounded individuals.

"Despite their starched clothing, they were as human as we are."

Also going on display are 17th Century silver wine fountains made for William of Orange before he became King of England and a series of tapestries.

Unseen Treasures of The Portland Collection will open on 25 March, 2023 and will run for three years.

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