Museum acquisitions

A wax seal matrix bought at auction by National Museums Scotland has revealed how James V of Scotland (1512-42) treated one of his illegitimate sons.

A group of rare portrait miniatures has been gifted to the Warwickshire art gallery and country house Compton Verney.

A £2m pocket watch once owned by George III has been temporarily blocked from export to give a UK institution the chance to purchase it.

A group of hand-drawn Armada maps depicting a key moment in England’s history have been saved after a fundraising campaign by the Royal Navy museum.

Members of the Royal Medical Service hope to raise funding to purchase a medicine cabinet that has been linked to Lord Nelson’s surgeon Sir William Beatty.

An Egyptian polychrome painted limestone relief from the 12th dynasty has been bought by the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, Germany.

Chawton House has bought a rare first edition of Poems by Jane Austen’s favourite poet, William Cowper, which was once owned by her brother.

The Dorset Archives Trust (DAT) has raised the final £5000 needed to purchase a collection of important manuscript and printed material once owned by novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840-1928).

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery has bought a presentation watercolour for three stained glass windows in local church St Peter’s in Cowfold from London dealers Abbott and Holder.

A record amount of paintings, antiques and historic objects were saved for the nation in lieu of tax in 2020, with £65m of objects accepted.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum (Royal Warwickshire) has bought a First World War ‘dead man’s penny’ memorial plaque.

Jasper Johns’ screenprint 'Flags I' will be on display at the British Museum after the million-dollar artwork was donated to the institution.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy hopes to raise £600,000 to stop the export of a group of hand-drawn Armada maps to an overseas buyer.