Masterpieces in Miniature. Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection

Masterpieces in Miniature is an ode to Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert’s impressive legacy and a chance for the public to admire these treasures from close to. DIVA, the museum for diamonds, jewelry, and silver, is the first venue to host this prestigious touring exhibition.

Visitors to the exhibition are plunged into the world of the Gilberts and their dazzling collection. They will make the acquaintance of Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert and come to understand their collecting habits, travel with them as they go in search of exceptional craftsmanship and beauty, and encounter famous historical figures such as the tsarina Catharine the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Queen Victoria. The showpieces include a snuffbox belonging to Frederick the Great of Prussia, made of chrysoprase, a rare gemstone mined in Silesia, and set with hardstones and diamonds. The diamonds were colored by placing them over pale-pink, green, and lemon-colored metal foils. 

Dries Otten (°1978) has been commissioned to design the set for Masterpieces in Miniature. The Antwerp-based interior architect, furniture, and set designer is famous for his playful use of color with historical references. He has already designed exhibition sets for the TextielMuseum, Bozar and Texture.

We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to present one of the world’s best cabinets of curiosities here in our museum. The partridge cup made by Jörg Ruel in the late sixteenth century was high on our wish-list. Besides the extraordinary carving and choice of materials, the cup also provides context for one of our own masterpieces: the sixteenth-century owl cup with Antwerp marks. These love birds will meet for the first time in the city where love is sealed with a diamond ring: Antwerp.
/Eva Olde Monnikhof, director of DIVA

We are so proud that DIVA in Antwerp is to be the first to present the international touring exhibition ‘Masterpieces in Miniature’. And where more appropriate to show the Gilbert Collection than in a city that has been a major European production and trading centre for art and luxury products from every corner of the world, including diamonds, jewellery and silver, ever since the sixteenth century. As an unconventional art collector and philanthropist, Arthur Gilbert was something of a celebrity, which means that the famous waxwork of him will look very much at home in a museum called DIVA!
/Alice Minter, curator of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection - V&A.


Opening Hours:
Mondays to Sundays, 10 am - 6 pm.
Closed on Wednesday.

Entry fee:
€ 12 adults; € 7 under 26 year; free under 12 year.
Click here >> to buy tickets online.
To arrange previews, guided tours or interviews with the curator, please contact suzanne.delange@divaantwerp.be.


About the Gilberts
To me, making money just for the sake of making money doesn’t make any sense. So I evolved into a collector.
/Arthur Gilbert.

Arthur (1913-2001) and Rosalinde Gilbert (1913-1995) made their first fortune in the fashion industry in London in the 1930s. They swapped London for their newly designed villa in Beverly Hills and set up a successful property development business in America. A second success story soon followed. Their search for “beautiful things” to decorate their home soon developed into a passion for collecting. The couple traveled the world looking for mosaics and the very best gold, silver, and enamel objects. 

The desire to share their collection with others by putting it on public display was of real importance to the couple. In the 1970s, the collection went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, before being transferred to Somerset House in London in 2000 and from there to its current home at the V&A. This is the first time items from all categories of the Gilbert Collection will go on display on the European continent. The collection will travel on from here to America and Asia.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection is a homage to exquisitely crafted objects, many in precious metals and often small in scale. The Gilberts spent over forty years amassing their collection of nearly 1000 items of fine silverware, gold (snuff)boxes, enamels and mosaics made in Europe between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries. Their passion for craftsmanship and beauty resulted in a collection that is unparalleled today.

About the V&A
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A), is the world’s leading museum of art, design, and performance with collections unrivaled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity. It was established in 1852 to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, its purpose is to champion the creative industry, inspire the next generation, and spark everyone’s imagination.