March is always a busy time in the collection department – the Manor reopens for the main season on 31 March. It’s at this time of year that the house is woken from its winter slumbers, with covers removed from furniture inside and from sculpture outside.  Every area of the house is busy, with the Stewards and Housekeeping staff re-instating the rooms and unpacking small objects and porcelain, while the Curators install the temporary exhibitions for this year.

 Each type of object requires special display conditions requiring a lot of forward planning and creativity. For example, our book curator has been adapting a drawing exhibition space with new shelves and stands, as well as a handling collection and DVD, to show off some of the wonderful 18th-century books from the Morning Room that are normally difficult to see. A little later in the season, we are also working on an exhibition of design by the Brazilian brothers Humberto and Fernando Campana, featuring wonderfully exotic, colourful chandeliers – a nice counterpoint to the historic chandeliers in the collection.

Behind the scenes, collection staff have also been busy working towards the launch of the new website for Waddesdon Manor, which will also provide a platform for exploring the collection on-line. At the moment, we have about 700 trade cards and other prints up on the site, but we are preparing a selection of about 50 highlights from across the collection – furniture, porcelain, paintings, textiles, sculptures and books – to give a sense of the breadth of the collection and a taster of what can be seen  here.

Related posts:

1. Waddesdon Manor – A National Trust property
2. Waddesdon Manor Aviary
3. Much more at MAD this year
4. 18th Century Family Fun Day at Waddesdon Manor
5. Waddesdon Manor Weddings