£1,000,000 ART TREASURES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 171, 21 July 1928, Page 6 (Supplement)

£1,000,000 ART TREASURES.

ANTIQUES FROM RUBBLSH HEAPS. ARTIST'S SECRET. Detectives and commissioners, guarded night and day the £1,000,000 exhibition of art treasures at the Grafton Galleries, Grafton Street West, London. The exhibition, which was under the auspices of the British Antique Dealers' Association, was the largest of its kind ever held under a single roof. Exhibits ranged from antique furniture to old silver, porcelain, pottery and glass, tapestry, musical instruments, books and historic MSS. Some of these rare and valuable antiques 'weTe originally discovered in rubbish heaps, disused lofts and old outhouses. One of the most notable exhibits was a 13th century French Gothic head of Christ carved in wood, which is said by connoisseufs to be the finest of its kind in the world. The secret of its existence has only just been disclosed. Hidden in Studio. For years it was owned by the famous French artist, M. Cornillon, who kept it hidden in a box in his studio. Although he never showed it to anyone, he would spend hours looking at it. Upon M. Cornillon's death last year, it was acquired by Mr. Acton Surgey, the well-known art-dealer. The head has been severed from a crucifix, and shows the face of a Christ who has suffered' agonies, spiritual and physical. Another interesting exhibit is what is said to be the oldest piece of Gothic furniture, a 13th century lectern. On the sloping top are strange s'cratchings of windmills, thought to be the work of some early prelate who had tired at his devotions. Nelson's Plate. In the display of old English silver are two large silver plates (exhibited by Mr. W. H. Willson), presented by Lloyds to Lord Nelson in recognition of his services to the country. '"The object of the exhibition was to arouse public interest in the comprehensive range of antiques in the hands of British dealers with a view to saving them ffom America," Mr. T. Livingstone Bailey, the secretary, told a '"Daily Chronicle" representative" ''During the last ten years between £50,000,000 and £60,000',000 worth of British art treasures have been taken across tie Atlantic. In America there is a fashion for purchasing antiques, and it is time we had a similar fashion over here," added Mr. Bailey. :