Although this collection is not open to the public, due to the status of cultural entity conferred on the Lyceum Clube Internacional de Lisboa, its members were able to visit it on 28 November, accompanied by the museum’s own curator.
This collection is very complete and extensive, covering a long period of time. It includes furniture, much of it from the city’s palaces, mirrors of exorbitant dimensions and even furniture from India.
The first thing we noticed was the impeccable organisation of the space, allowing the pieces to be catalogued and arranged. The RE-ORG programme has been the catalyst for this work. We have also worked hard to prevent the conservation of the pieces, with constant humidity and heat control.
In addition to the furniture, which occupies a large part of the collection, we have a number of very varied pieces, all related to the history of the city. Paintings, charcoal drawings and an engraving giving a panoramic view of Lisbon from the other side, one of the first known.
The pendants that cover part of the wall attract the eye because of their beautiful colours and the specificity of the materials. They were part of Lisbon’s great historical procession in 1947, on the 500th anniversary of Gama’s arrival in India. The trades were well represented, given their importance at the time. They were restored with great care, as they were in great disrepair due to the fact that they were made of fabric, embroidered with silk and gold thread. The ones you can see represent the trades of carpenter, with St Joseph, and St Brás, protector of weavers.
Among many hundreds of pieces, a chair with magnificent gilded carvings stands out. The oldest piece is also a chair from the 16th century, made of carved teak wood and gilded straw.
