Museum acquisitions

An Italian Nativity scene has been saved for the nation after it was blocked from export by the government.

A portrait of art dealer Algernon Moses Marsden (1847–1920) by Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836–1902) has been purchased for the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery with funding from descendants of Marsden.

A Wedgwood Art Deco tea and coffee set and the original design drawings by Paul Follot (1877-1941) have been bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum and put on display at the World of Wedgwood museum in Stoke-on-Trent.

A large group of c.6-7th century Anglo-Saxon artefacts, known as the Ozengell Hoard, have been bought by Kent Archaeological Society.

A rare copy of Jane Austen’s Emma will go on display at Chawton House, the former home of the novelist’s brother, after an arrangement was agreed with the US buyer of the book and dealer Peter Harrington.

The Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath has launched a fundraising campaign to buy a Caroline Herschel memoir.

The Friends of the BADA has given £500 to support the Bethlem Museum of the Mind in the acquisition of a new work.

The National Trust has acquired a silver inkstand used by Viscount Castlereagh (1769-1822), the Anglo-Irish politician and statesman.

Two Italian pictures have joined the National Gallery’s collection via the government’s inheritance tax scheme.

A casket believed to have once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots has been bought by the National Museum of Scotland with help from donors and art funds.

A Wright of Derby (1734-97) self-portrait, in private hands for 250 years, has been bought by Derby Museum and Art Gallery with the help of donations and a government tax scheme.

A work by Rebecca Solomon (1832-86) offered at Sotheby’s was bought by The Princeton University Art Museum.