Henry Philip Hope

Henry Philip Hope (June 8, 1774, in Amsterdam, Netherlands – December 5, 1839, in Kent, United Kingdom) was a collector of Dutch origin based in London. He was one of the heirs of the bank Hope & Co. without having been a banker himself but rather a famous collector of the arts and more particularly precious gems.

Henry Philip Hope
Painting by Thomas Goff Lupton After Bouton
Born(1774-06-08)June 8, 1774
Amsterdam
DiedDecember 5, 1839(1839-12-05) (aged 65)
Kent, United Kingdom
NationalityDutch
OrganizationSociety of Dilettanti
Parents
  • Jan Hope (father)
  • Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven (mother)
Relatives

Origins

He was the son of Jan Hope and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven and the youngest brother of Thomas Hope and Adrian Elias Hope.[1]

Collector

He was a great collector of gems, including the Hope Diamond (a blue diamond of 45.52 carats (9.104 g)) and a large pearl of 1,800 grains (or 90 g)[2] which still bear the name of Hope. The catalog of his collection was published by Bram Hertz shortly after his death.

The conditions for the acquisition of the blue diamond remain uncertain. The archives found at the National Museum of Natural History leave no room for certainty. It may be possible that Henry Philip Hope acquired the French blue diamond after his flight in 1792. Records reveal that Henry Philip Hope also bought a 137-carat sapphire that had previously belonged to the Ruspoli family of Rome which was confused until 2013 with Louis XIV's "Grand Saphir". The Grand was of comparable weight, but has different facets (rhomboid instead of cushion).

Inheritance

When his brother, Adrian Elias Hope, died in 1834 with no wife or children, he inherited £500,000 (or £48,410,400 in 2021 currency).[3]

In his book on precious stones, the French mineralogist René Just Haüy cites Henry Philip Hope as one of the most distinguished patrons of the arts of his time. When he died in 1839, his collection was viewed as "...one of most perfect collections of diamonds and precious stones that has, perhaps, ever been possessed by a private individual..."[3]

See also

Bibliography
Notes
  1. Sutton, Bikker & Bruce Museum of Arts and Science 2006, p. 116.
  2. Matlins 2001, pp. 16-17.
  3. Kurin 2017.
References
  • Sutton, Peter C.; Bikker, Jonathan; Bruce Museum of Arts and Science (2006). Jan van der Heyden. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300119701.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 250
  • Kurin, Richard (2017). Hope Diamond: The Legendary History of a Cursed Gem. Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 9781588344199.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 400
  • Matlins, Antoinette L. (2001). The Pearl Book: The Definitive Buying Guide - How to Select, Buy, Care for and Enjoy Pearls. Gemstone Press. ISBN 9780943763354.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) - Total pages: 198
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