Botticelli and Treasures from the Hamilton Collection

In 1882 the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings Museum) acquired, from the collection of the Duke of Hamilton, Sandro Botticelli’s spectacular series of drawings on parchment illustrating scenes from Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. It also acquired nearly all the items in the duke’s priceless collection of illuminated manuscripts. The wider British public only became aware of these masterpieces when rumours of the Berlin museum’s attempts to woo the Scottish duke started circulating in the press. No less than Queen Victoria and her daughter, wife of the German crown prince, appealed for these treasures to remain in the UK. In spite of their efforts, the Berlin museum pulled off a sensational coup in acquiring the Hamilton collection. Since then the Botticelli drawings and the splendid Hamilton manuscripts have formed the cornerstone of the Kupferstichkabinett’s collection and are regarded as amongst the very greatest treasures of the Berlin State Museums. Accompanying an exhibitio