The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels
11 October 2013 – 27 April 2014
In 2013, the Museum of London will open a major new exhibition investigating the secrets of the Cheapside Hoard. This extraordinary and priceless cache of late 16th and early 17th century jewels and gemstones – displayed in its entirety for the first time in over a century – was discovered in 1912, buried in a cellar on Cheapside in the City of London.
Through new research and state-of-the-art technology, the exhibition will showcase the wealth of insights the Hoard offers on Elizabethan and Jacobean London – as a centre of craftsmanship and conspicuous consumption, at the crossroads of the Old and New Worlds. It will also explore the mysteries that remain, lost among the cataclysmic events of the mid-17th century: who owned the Hoard, when and why was it hidden, and why was it never reclaimed?
Adult £10 (£9 without donation)
Concession/child £8 (£7 without donation)
Flexible family tickets (must include at least one child and one adult):
Family of up to 3 £22.50 (£19.50 without donation)
Family of up to 4 £30 (£26 without donation)
Family of up to 5 £37.50 (£32.50 without donation)
Family of up to 6 £45 (£39 without donation)
Tickets are available now through our Box Office on 020 7001 9844 and will go on sale on our website in June.
Groups of 10 or more people receive a 20% discount on exhibition entry and can also prebook one of our special expert talks:
Unearthing the Cheapside Hoard
Learn how this priceless cache of jewels and gemstones was discovered, and what the jewels say about London’s role in the jewellery trade with this talk from exhibition curator Hazel Forsyth.
£10 per person for groups of 20 or more or a £200 flat fee for groups of less than 20
Caring for the Cheapside Hoard
Discover how our conservators care for priceless pieces of jewellery in the collection, including those displayed in our latest exhibition.
£10 per person for groups of 20 or more or a £200 flat fee for groups of less than 20
Why is the Cheapside Hoard important?
When the Hoard was found in 1912 it was immediately heralded as a landmark find in the history of the jewellers’ craft because so little jewellery of this quality and date has survived. One hundred years on it is still regarded as a time-capsule of contemporary taste and it remains not only the most important source of our knowledge of Elizabethan and Jacobean jewellery in England, but also provides unparalleled information on London’s role in the international gem trade in an age of global conquest and exploration.
The exhibition will explore the mysteries surrounding the Hoard, which is thought to represent a goldsmith-jeweller’s stock-in-trade. It will consider why and when it was buried and by whom. It will also use the jewels to explore the wider landscape of early Stuart London, and in particular, the clandestine world of the Elizabethan and Jacobean goldsmith-jeweller. It will offer new evidence about the individuals and communities engaged in mining, cutting, trading and buying jewels and it will look at their creative talents, craft skills and manufacturing techniques.
The jewels will be shown with a range of objects to reflect craftsmanship, taste and fashion, and portraits of goldsmith-jewellers, patrons and consumers will be used to illustrate the importance of jewellery in early modern society.
