Art Funded by you

Collection of Decorative Works of Art

Various, 1709

1) Queen Anne Tankard, 1709; 2) Panel of Turkish Crimson Velvet; 3) Pair of Rugs; 4) Persian Carpet. Tankard stolen from the collection in 1993. Items previously located at Shibden Hall, Halifax. Part of the Cook bequest. Mr Ernest Edward Cook, grandson of Thomas Cook, the founder of the Travel Agency, was well-known for many benefactions during his lifetime. When he died on 15 March 1955, at the age of 89, he bequeathed the entire contents of his house at No.1 Sion Hill Place, Bath, to the Art Fund to be distributed to museums and galleries in England. This bequest, which was, at the time, the most important ever left to the Art Fund, comprises over 150 pictures, as well as Beauvais and Mortlake tapestries, Chippendale and other English furniture, English silver, and Chinese, Continental and English porcelain. The distribution, by the Fund, of this outstanding bequest enhanced the collections of nearly a hundred museums and galleries throughout the country.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Collection of Decorative Works of Art, 1709

Date supported

1955

Medium and material

Silver/textiles

Gifted by

Ernest Edward Cook

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

Art Funded by you FAQs

Contact us

If you have a question about a work of art in our archive, please contact the Programmes team. We’ll be happy to answer your enquiry.