The National Trust’s collections are not only vast, but contain objects of astonishing beauty, quality and human interest.
To coincide with the Trust’s 125 anniversary, we asked nine senior curators — including national experts in painting and sculpture, textiles, furniture and decorative arts — to choose their favourite object from among those in their care.
Each of the objects they've chosen is discussed in individual articles, but we've collected them all together here to make it easier for you to enjoy all of these wonderful items — and plan your trips for 2020 accordingly.
'An allegorical dream'
Idleness and the Pilgrim of Love by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, about 1872–76, at Wallington, Northumberland.
The Marquess of Anglesey’s revolutionary wooden leg
The first articulated wooden leg, limewood and leather, at Plas Newydd, Anglesey.
A red tunic that tells a tale of sinking ships, man-eating sharks and stupendous bravery
Red flannel tunic, part of a uniform of the 12th Lancers by an unknown maker, about 1851, at The Argory, Co Armagh.
'A man utterly consumed by passion'
A Man Consumed by Flames by Isaac Oliver, about 1610. Watercolour and body colour with gold on vellum, at Ham House, Richmond-upon-Thames.
A great Italian masterpiece brought to life as a woodcut by an English genius
The Crucifixion (after Jacopo Tintoretto), wooden carving by Grinling Gibbons, at Dunham Massey
The Rococo silver soup tureens at Ickworth
Pair of silver soup tureens, Frederick Kandler, London, 1752–53, at Ickworth
Chippendale's table that is the 'epitome of light-hearted Chinoiserie' at Anglesey Abbey
The Garrick Dressing Table by Thomas Chippendale, about 1775, at Anglesey Abbey.
A 15th-century altar cloth that survives in almost miraculous condition
Altar frontal of silk, velvet and linen, about 1493–1520, at Cotehele.
The humane, charming and utterly priceless Velazquez at Ickworth
Prince Baltasar Carlos, aged six, as a hunter by Diego Velázquez, about 1635–36, at Ickworth.
How the 125-year-old National Trust fulfils 21st-century needs for a beautiful Britain
Caring for places of history and natural beauty is a necessity which spans the ages.
A week-by-week guide to the National Trust's properties in 2020
The 15 best pictures from the National Trust's photo competition to find a cover for its 2020 member handbook
A beautiful image of a nature reserve on the Isle of Wight has won the honour of being on the
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Cerne Abbas: Was the giant naked man an artistic act of defiance aimed at monks?New evidence suggests that the Cerne Abbas giant is much older than previously thought — and that its creation might have been 'a big two fingers' aimed at the Benedictine monks who had recently established an abbey.
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The Ickworth Velazquez that's one of the very greatest treasures of the National TrustIn the final part of our series looking at the National Trust's finest treasures, we look at one of the very finest paintings in the Trust's ownership.
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A 15th-century altar cloth that survives in almost miraculous condition, one of the National Trust's greatest treaures
Our series looking at the National Trust's finest treasures looks at a pre-Reformation altar front from Cotehele which has survived to the present day.
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A Chippendale table that's 'the epitome of light-hearted Chinoiserie design', one of the National Trust's greatest treasuresOur series looking at the National Trust's finest treasures takes aim at the Thomas Chippendale dressing table of Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire.
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A pair of tureens that are a Rococo tour de force in silver, and among the finest treasures of the National Trust
We're taking a look at nine of the greatest objects on display in the National Trust's properties across Britain — this time around we look at the incredibly intricate soup tureens of Ickworth.
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A great Italian masterpiece brought to life as a woodcut by an English genius, one of the National Trust's finest treasures
We're taking a look at nine of the greatest objects on display in the National Trust's properties across Britain — today it's the astonishing carving at Dunham Massey.
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A man 'utterly consumed by the forces of love and passion', one of the National Trust's finest treasuresWe're taking a look at nine of the greatest objects on display in the National Trust's properties across Britain — this edition examines a painting that is small in size and large in meaning.
