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A small provincial museum in Britain has beaten the might of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to win the right to exhibit a small medieval jug after government intervention.
The modest Luton Museum north of London managed to secure the 31 centimetre (12.2 inch) "Wenlok Jug", even though its annual budget for new acquisitions is only 2,500 pounds (3,600 euros, 4,400 dollars).
It had been in a bidding war with the Met -- one of the world's leading museums -- which offered 750,000 pounds for the artefact dating from the 14th or 15th century after its private owner put it up for sale.
Inscribed to "My Lord Wenlok", thought to be a local nobleman, it is a rare example of a vessel cast by an English bronze founder.
Last October, Britain's Culture Minister David Lammy put a temporary export ban on the bronze tankard after experts ruled it to be "of outstanding significance" for the ongoing study of bronze-working in medieval England.
Its owner said it would stay in Britain provided that the museum could offer the same amount as the Met, a Luton Borough Council spokeswoman told AFP.
On Thursday, the National Heritage Memorial Fund awarded the Luton Museum 595,000 pounds. Most of the remainder had already been donated by supporters and other bodies.
Museums service manager Maggie Appleton said: "This is a huge boost. ... We now have just a small amount to raise in the next three weeks to make up the full amount.
"But as we've had significant interest from elsewhere, we are confident we'll be bringing the jug home to Luton."
The Luton Museum, on the outskirts of the commuter town some 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of London, houses exhibits reflecting the town's famous hat-making industry and a collection of horse-drawn carriages.
In contrast, the Met, on New York's prestigious Fifth Avenue, has more than two million works of art from five millennia, including rare masterpieces, and is visited by more than five million people a year.
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AFP 231550 GMT 02 06
COPYRIGHT 2004 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.
