The Gilbert Collection is to close to the public by the end of January ahead of its move from Somerset House to the Victoria and Albert Museum (Museums Journal November 2007, p5).
The collection of 800 gold and silver works will open in the V&A's new Gilbert Galleries in 2009. Much of the collection would be displayed in three rooms on level one, with the rest of the pieces incorporated into other displays. The museum's director, Mark Jones, said: "The Gilbert Collection will add a new dimension to the V&A."
Pieces from the collection that cannot be housed in the V&A will be loaned back to the historic houses for which they were originally made.
A spokeswoman for Somerset House said a contemporary exhibition programme will run in the space vacated by the Gilbert Collection.
The collection of 800 gold and silver works will open in the V&A's new Gilbert Galleries in 2009. Much of the collection would be displayed in three rooms on level one, with the rest of the pieces incorporated into other displays. The museum's director, Mark Jones, said: "The Gilbert Collection will add a new dimension to the V&A."
Pieces from the collection that cannot be housed in the V&A will be loaned back to the historic houses for which they were originally made.
A spokeswoman for Somerset House said a contemporary exhibition programme will run in the space vacated by the Gilbert Collection.
