The state will buy Chinese porcelain and jewelry from Maria Pia for 860 thousand euros

This Wednesday, it was announced that the Portuguese state will buy Chinese porcelain and a jewel from Queen Maria Pia for a total of 860,000 euros, which will be included in the National Museum of Ancient Art and the National Palace of Ajuda.

A small Chinese porcelain vase, a jug commissioned by King Manuel I (1469-1521) to the Zhengde Emperor (1506-1521), will be purchased from the Ricardo Espirito Santo Silva Foundation for 825 thousand euros and is the jewel of Queen Maria Pia. (1847-1911) was purchased from a private individual for 35,000 euros, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture.

“These items, sold at auction and on the international market, are likely to have a much higher value than the acquisition of the state. (…) This is to ensure that these items remain in Portugal and are available to the public. pleasure,” Minister of Culture Pedro Adao e Silva explained to reporters regarding these two acquisitions on the sidelines of a visit to the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon.

The porcelain piece will become part of the Museu de Arte Antiga collection, while the Maria Pia piece will become part of the Palacio Nacional da Ajuda collection.

The two acquisitions are made through the Art Acquisition Commission for National Museums and Palaces, set up this year as part of the revision of the Statute of Cultural Patronage, with a budget of two million euros.

The Commission is composed of the General Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Joao Carlos dos Santos, and the Director of the National Museums of Ancient Art (MNAA), Joaquim Cayetano of Azulejos (MNAz), Alexandre Pais of Soares dos Reis (MNSR). ), Antonio Ponte and the National Palace of Ajuda – Museum of the Royal Treasury, José Alberto Ribeiro.

This structure will function in its current form until December 31, 2023, but will continue to operate in 2024 in a new structure as part of the restructuring of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage (DGPC), which is being prepared by the current government.

“Our goal is to make more acquisitions, to strengthen the allocation of funds for acquisitions. This is what we have already done this year. The question of the timing of the commission arises only because when we reorganize [da DGPC] Ultimately, this will affect the complex of structures created in this context,” the minister explained.

The purchase of Maria Pia’s porcelain bowl and necklace, announced today, joins seven works of art already acquired at the proposal of this commission as part of a global investment of 1.4 million euros.

Three works were purchased for the MNAA from the Alexandre de Souza Holstein collection, two of which are by Francisco Vieira or Vieira Portuense: Banquet to Gama on Ilha dos Amores and Vasco da Gama representing the Samorim from Calicut; a Flemish painting from the early 16th century depicting three saints; portrait of Cardinal D. Enrique by Domenico Tintoretto; and the painting “April Month” by Baltasar Gomes Figueira and Josepha de Obidos.

For the Azulejos National Museum, a panel was purchased, consisting of three scenes – “The Death of Goliath by David”, “The Triumph of David” and “David Destroying the Lion and the Bear” – “probably made by Cornelis van der Kloet, the father of the author of the tiles in the church of Madre- de Deus”, as a result of “an order made for the Portuguese space, probably religious”.

The purchase of these seven works depended on “the patronage of the Ismaili Imamat, an organization headed by Prince Aga Khan, who provided €250,000 to purchase a 16th-century silver dish for the Royal Treasury Museum, for a total amount of euros.” €930,000,” the ministry said in a December statement.