Castle’s art collection faces Nazi loot probe
This follows a similar investigation into the contents of the Hunt Museum in Limerick amid claims, so far unsubstantiated, that the collection may contain items plundered by the Nazis in World War II. Art collector John Hunt’s children, John and Trudi, gave that collection to the State.
When Lord and Lady Gort were putting the Bunratty collection together 40 years ago, one of their advisers was John Hunt.
The Gort collection in Bunratty Castle contains more than 400 items and is the largest display of late mediaeval European furniture in this country.
The Hunt family has denied claims by the Simon Weisenthal Centre in Paris that John Hunt may have acquired items for his collection from Nazi loot.
Bunratty’s antique furniture, tapestries and other works of art dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, collected by the seventh Viscount Gort and his wife, were presented to the State by the couple.
The collection is managed by the Gort Furniture Trust, headed by Peter Harbison. Mr Harbison said that a detailed check has been carried out on every item in the castle.
He said: “The collection has been audited for any evidence of questionable origin and the entire collection will be made available on a website for public inspection in the near future.”
Every item in the castle, he said, has already been professionally archived.
Mr Harbison said: “We have submitted details of the material gathered to the Art Loss Register in London, an organisation with a database of 140,000 stolen objects and World War II-related works of art.
“It has dealt with many Holocaust claims in conjunction with two New York-based agencies, one set up under the umbrella of the World Jewish Council.”
Sarah Jackson, the Art Loss Register’s historic claims director, has certified that to the best of the register’s knowledge none of the objects from the Gort Collection has been registered as stolen or missing on the Word War II database.
Mr Harbison said: “As a further step in upholding the good name of the Gort Furniture Collection at Bunratty, the trustees have now undertaken, in compliance with international best practice, to place the entire collection online as soon as practicable. We have also put in place the appropriate protocols for dealing with any inquiries that may arise in connection with the collection.”
John Hunt, Jr, who died last year, said he was horrified at allegations made against his parents by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.
In one interview he said: “My mother, who was German, left Germany because she did not want to be part of what was going on in the country before the war and wanted out. After the war she returned to visit her mother and not to buy art.
“It is rather horrid for your parents to be accused of associating with Nazis without a shred of evidence.”
The Hunt Museum has called in an outside group, headed by a former High Court judge to verify that the collection does not contain Nazi loot.
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