A gold pendant linked to Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, has been acquired by the British Museum following a successful fundraising campaign.
The London museum launched the appeal in October to buy the Tudor Heart – a 16th-century, heart-shaped pendant discovered in Warwickshire by a metal detectorist in 2019 – and prevent it from entering a private collection.
It has now announced it has reached its £3.5m fundraising target, after receiving more than £350,000 in public contributions and a string of donations from grants, trusts, and arts organisations.
More than 45,000 members of the public contributed to the fundraising effort, the museum said, while it received £1.75m from The National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Other donors included The Julia Rausing Trust, which donated £500,000 to the cause, the charity Art Fund, which donated £400,000, and The American Friends of the British Museum, which gave £300,000.
The 24-carat gold artefact is thought to have been created for an event held in October 1518 to mark the betrothal of Henry and Catherine’s daughter, Princess Mary – who would become Mary I – to the French heir apparent, according to research by the British Museum.
It added that Henry VIII regularly commissioned London goldsmiths to create costume jewellery for major celebrations and state occasions. However, very few objects celebrating Henry and Catherine’s relationship remain.
‘Beautiful survivor’
Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, offered “a heartfelt thank you” to those who supported the campaign.
He said: “The success of the campaign shows the power of history to spark the imagination and why objects like the Tudor Heart should be in a museum.
“This beautiful survivor tells us about a piece of English history few of us knew, but in which we can all now share.
“I am looking forward to saying more soon on our plans for it to tour the UK in the future.”
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After it was discovered, the pendant was reported under the Treasure Act 1996, which gives museums and galleries in England the opportunity to acquire historical objects and put them on display.
Since the fundraising effort was announced, the Tudor Heart has been on display in the British Museum’s gallery two, where it is set to remain on view.
The museum said it hopes to have the pendant formally in the collection later this year.
