They may have only moved 50 miles down the road, but Britain’s most lucrative, talked-about stash of ancient riches retain a pull to match their status.
The Staffordshire Hoard arrived at Birmingham Museum and Art Galleries on Saturday (March 13), enticing crowds as expectant as those who had queued for up to four hours to glimpse the Anglo-Saxon torcs and treasures during their month-long exposure at Stoke-on-Trent's Potteries Museum.
Queues outside Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery when the display first visited in September 2009
The return of the 60-item selection to its Birmingham base, where it debuted last September having been valued at £3.3 million, should also replenish publicity for campaigners as they pursue further donations to the £1.5 million raised to date.
“Our Museum and Art Gallery has some of the finest facilities and expertise in the country to care for this astonishing treasure,” promised Marin Mullaney, the City Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture.
“We know from the overwhelming public response to the first display that people from across the region feel very passionately that we must keep it in the West Midlands.
“Our fundraising efforts will continue to secure it for the benefit of the region and local people for generations to come.”
A record-breaking 65,000 visitors attended the opening display in Birmingham
Bolstered by the likes of English Heritage and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the team behind the fundraising mission will be praying the final leg of the tour inspires philanthropy on a par with the mystery benefactor who pledged £50,000 at the opening of the Potteries exhibition.
The Birmingham display closes on April 17 – the deadline for the price to be met – meaning the remaining £1.8 million needs to be raised in little more than a month.
Fans queued for up to four hours to see the Hoard in Stoke-on-Trent. © Amanda Slater
The Museum attendants will also be braced for a stampede – a record 65,000 people gaped at helmet fragments decorated with animals and warriors, decorative plaques in the shape of eagles and golden duck’s heads during the previous 19-day show.
Amateur metal detector Terry Herbert, who discovered the Hoard on farmland near Lichfield last July, will share the money with landowner Fred Johnson.
All uncredited photos © Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
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