Twisting tale of 'Henry VIII's lost dagger' to be told in London exhibition

"The story of a mysterious Ottoman dagger long believed to have been owned by Henry VIII-and stolen in a dramatic 20th-century heist-will be told at an exhibition opening in London on Saturday (1 November). The object was bought in the mid-18th century by the politician and Gothic horror writer Horace Walpole, who kept it at his home, Strawberry Hill House-which is now a museum."

"The museum's curator Silvia Davoli has uncovered the weapon's history, which will be one of the stories explored in Henry VIII's Lost Dagger: From the Tudor Court to the Victorian Stage. Walpole believed the dagger belonged to Henry VIII, after an attribution by George Vertue, the 18th century engraver and Tudor expert. Walpole was also convinced by drawings and paintings of the king with a jewelled dagger, by Hans Holbein the Younger."

An ornate Ottoman dagger long thought to have belonged to Henry VIII was actually made in late 16th-century Istanbul, after Henry's death in 1547. The dagger entered British collections when Horace Walpole acquired it in the mid-18th century and kept it at Strawberry Hill House. The object passed through several owners including Charles Kean, George Hunt Heigham, dealer Lascade and William Waldorf Astor, who placed it at Hever Castle. Museum research by Silvia Davoli and consultation with the V&A's Tim Stanley established the Istanbul origin. The dagger was among more than 20 valuables stolen from Hever during a 21 April 1946 burglary.

Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events