Highlights From The Wallace Collection: European Armoury I

Ah, The Wallace Collection! Even as I contemplate only tackling the highlights, the vastness of this collection overwhelms me and I know that it is a practically impossible task.

Still, today I am in London and, after too long, I finally return to my favorite museum. Although I do love a good museum and have been fortunate enough to have browsed through many a fine collection, The Wallace Collection is firmly at the top of my list. So I am certainly not going to let a little thing like whittling the collection down to a select few get me down. And so, I begin.

European Armoury I

The first armoury contains Medieval and Renaissance arms and armour from the tenth to the sixteen centuries. Most of Sir Richard Wallace’s collection of European Arms and armour was acquired from the comte Alfred Emilien de Nieuwerkerke, Minister of Fine Arts to Napoleon III and Director of the Louvre. Other major purchases, such as the ceremonial armour made by Lucio Marliani and believed to be owned by Alphonso II d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, were made from Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick a collector and scholar.

The collection contains an array of swords, daggers, helmets, armour and artifacts from the time including a spectacular display cabinet of swords and a drinking horn from Northern Europe dated circa. 1400AD.

Good To Know

The Wallace Collection was established in 1897 from the private collection of the Marquesses of Hertford. Although he was illegitimate, Sir Richard Wallace, whom the collection was named for, inherited the collection and the house from his father the 4th Marquee. It was Sir Richard’s widow who bequeathed the collection to the British nation and a few years later the state purchased the house such that the collection remained on display here. The Wallace Collection opened to the public in 1900.

See some of the other rooms in The Wallace Collection or explore another of my favorite museums:

• European Armoury II
• European Armoury III
• East Gallery II
• The Front State Room
• Manolo Blahnik: An Enquiring Mind
• The Smoking Room
• National Museum of Beirut
• Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar
• National Gallery of Australia

Would I Return?

Yes. Absolutely and unequivocally yes.