The Art of Collecting

"You see, in my position I must collect. My mother did it and my grandfather did it. It is an obligation. After all, the Medicis did it too."  - Nelson Rockerfeller

Frans Francken II, Kunst und Raritätenkammer (Chamber of art and curiosities), 1636, oil on board

It may begin in childhood with toys cars, dolls or cards, eventually trading them for art, sports cars, books, wine and a plethora of interests. Collections sometimes start by accident , but somehow assume a life of their own. Did you know - Pope Boniface VIII was one of the first coin collectors of the High Middle Ages.

CELEBRITY COLLECTORS | Collectors of antiques or art, ranging from antique quilts and vintage photography to rare books and manual typewriters.

Tom Hanks collects typewriters. He keeps them by the phone and uses them to write notes to his friends.

When Elton John sold off his antique and Deco collection a couple of decades ago, he had enough to fill four Sotheby’s catalogues. A perennial collector, these days he collects photography, including Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray and Imogen Cunningham. He allows his almost 3,000 piece collection to tour to museums.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has one of the greatest collections of pre-Raphaelite paintings in the UK, often lends pieces to public galleries and exhibitions.

If you move in the right circles you can even expect a Picasso as a wedding present;  when rocker Bill Wyman married teenager Mandy Smith, Mick Jagger gave them a Picasso etching.

Broadcaster, writer and film maker Philip Adams who is an archaeologist in his spare time has travelled the world to participate in a number of  digs to unearth  treasures. He is recognised as having the largest private collection of antiquities in Australia. With items ranging from mummy cases and coins to ancient lamps and weapons, the Adams collection tells tales of ancient Aztecs, Mayans ,Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Whoever said Antiques were dull?