The University of Edinburgh hopes to enter into talks with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) about borrowing works from its musical instruments collection following the V&A’s decision to remove the objects from display last month.
“The staff of Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments have expressed regret at the decision to close the musical instrument gallery in the only major national museum to have a display devoted to musical instruments, rather than to refurbish it,” said the university collection’s curator, Darryl Martin.
“The V&A has already announced its willingness for instruments to be housed at some other recognised collections, including the University of Edinburgh, and we look forward to further discussions.”
The removal of the musical instruments has provoked a wave of criticism, including a petition of 4,500 signatures, that has been sent to prime minister Gordon Brown.
But the V&A has defended the move, saying that the refurbishment of Gallery 40A, which displayed 235 objects from the 276-piece collection of western musical instruments, is “part of the programme for enhancing the display of fashion”.
A selection of instruments will go on display in the museum’s furniture gallery, which opens in 2012, and in the Europe 1600-1800 galleries, which are scheduled for completion in 2014.
The V&A also pointed out that it had agreed “to make significant loans to the Horniman Museum [in London]. A bid for funding to display a proportion of the V&A collection, likely to be in the region of 40 instruments, was submitted in December 2009.”
In the long term, the Horniman intends to display the V&A instruments on a rotational basis. Meanwhile, the collection will be accessible by appointment at Blythe House, in Kensington Olympia.