A gold pendant known as the Tudor Heart is the subject of a high-profile fundraising campaign launched by the British Museum, which involved actor Damian Lewis (famed for his roles in Billions, Homeland, and Wolf Hall) and historian Mary Beard in an appeal for money to acquire a treasured example of historical “bling” for its storied collection.
“We have absolutely nothing of this complexity or type surviving from Henry VIII’s early reign,” Rachel King, the British Museum’s curator of Renaissance Europe and the Waddesdon Bequest at the museum, told the Art Newspaper. The same TAN report notes that King suggested “understanding of the ‘bling’ from this era has been reserved to inventories and observations of paintings by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger, but here you have a ‘tangible example.’”
The 24-karat Tudor Heart is decorated with a rose and a pomegranate tree, symbols associated with Henry VIII and his wife Katherine of Aragon, as well as engravings of the letters “H” and “K.” The piece was found by an amateur metal detectorist in Warwickshire in 2019, and the British Museum said it hopes to acquire the find before it goes into a private collection. The institution said it needs help from the public to raise £3.5 million (around $4.6 million) by early next year.
In a statement, British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan said, “The Tudor Heart is perhaps one of the most incredible pieces of English history to have ever been unearthed. Support will ensure that this unique and beautiful treasure is secured for the nation, so that it can be enjoyed by and inspire generations to come.”
Charlie Clarke, the amateur detectorist, found the historical treasure six years ago after hearing an “unusually loud” bleeping sound from his metal detector. He described an expert in Birmingham to whom he brought it as “shaking when she held it, her jaw was on the floor.”
In an Instagram post for the British Museum, actor Damian Lewis dons black gloves and heaps praise on what he calls “the only surviving piece of Tudor jewelry of its kind from Henry VIII’s reign in the world.” To the public, he pleads, “please give generously” by Valentine’s Day of next year.
Later this week, on October 18, the British Museum will host the first British Museum Ball, a new fundraising initiative to “celebrate London’s status as one of the world’s leading cultural capitals and establish a new highlight on the international social calendar.”
