ONE of the UK's leading museums has successfully raised the £2.5 million required to acquire angels made for one of the country's most powerful historical figures.
The museum, which is to open a controversial new museum in Dundee, has bought the four bronze angels designed for the tomb of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, chief advisor to King Henry VIII.
The Cardinal has been recently seen on the BBC as one of the key character's in the adaptation of Hilary Mantel's award winning novel, Wolf Hall.
The author said: "The recovery of Wolsey's angels is one of those miracles that historians pray for; something that seems irrevocably lost has been there all the time.
"To claim the angels for the nation would connect us to one of the liveliest eras of our history and one of its most remarkable men."
The campaign was aided by £2m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund contributed £500,000, and the Friends of the V&A gave £200,000.
Private individuals and trusts also donated to the cause.
More than £87,000 was raised from a national public appeal.
Martin Roth, the director of the V&A, said: "The Wolsey Angels are a vital part of our national history and artistic heritage.
"We are very grateful to everyone who contributed to our fundraising appeal to ensure these outstanding sculptures, which were thought to be lost, are reunited and preserved at the V&A for future generations."
Fiona Talbott, head of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, said: "Many of us have been enjoying the BBC's production of Wolf Hall which makes it even more fitting to celebrate the purchase of these extraordinary statues. Congratulations to the V&A for being so tenacious in securing their future.
"We feel proud to have played a part too and hope that the Cardinal Wolsey's Angels - thanks to their current high profile - will attract many admirers both now and in the future."
The four bronze angels were commissioned in 1524 from the Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Rovezzano as part of a tomb in the Renaissance style, reflecting Cardinal Wolsey's wealth and statesmanship.
The angels, each measuring around a metre in height, were created between 1524 and 1529 - a period in which Henry VIII was seeking to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Wolsey's inability to persuade the Pope to annul the marriage led to his fall from power and he died in 1530.
The existence of the angels remained unknown until two of them appeared at auction in 1994, unillustrated and catalogued simply as being 'in Italian Renaissance style'.
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