An announcement published today in the Diário da República, dated June 30 and signed by the president of the public company Museu e Monumentos de Portugal, Alexandre Pais, proposes the classification of two tombs based on an opinion from the Museums, Conservation, Restoration, and Mobile Cultural Heritage Section.
Interested parties have 30 days to express their views.
Earlier this year, the deadline for completing the classification process of the tomb of King D. Dinis (1261-1325), started in August 2023, was extended until August.
The process was initiated in 2023 by the then Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, highlighting that “the protection and enhancement of the [tomb collection] represent cultural value significant to the Nation.”
D. Dinis’ tomb, located in the Monastery of Odivelas in the Lisbon district, was opened in 2020, revealing a sword, a silver buckle, and various textiles.
The tomb was closed on June 28, 2023, at the Monastery of Odivelas. At the time, archaeologist Maria Antónia Amaral, one of the researchers studying the monarch and his collection, indicated to the Lusa agency that she proposed the classification of the cloak and sword found there as national treasures.
According to the archaeologist, the king’s remains were studied by an Anthropology team, and the associated items related to the monarch and the infant — one of D. Dinis’ grandsons, also buried at the monastery — still need to be studied. There will be analyses, datings, inventories, reports, and scientific articles produced.
In the justification for the classification proposal, a July 2023 document noted the “high heritage interest of the Espólio do túmulo do rei D. Dinis,” concluding that it is a historically and artistically unprecedented set of items demonstrating values of memory, antiquity, authenticity, originality, creativity, rarity, and uniqueness.
Several other classification proposals were published today, such as the one for a painting titled “Nossa Senhora numa paisagem orando diante de Cristo Crucificado” from the Flemish School, previously owned by Damião de Góis, auctioned last year in Lisbon and sold for 120,000 euros, as proposed by the National Museum of Ancient Art in September.
In the same auction from the collection of banker Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva, a Flemish triptych depicting the Litania Mariana was sold for 72,000 euros and was subject to an application for permanent export to the United Kingdom, leading to a classification proposal to prevent the artwork’s exit due to its “indisputable interest to Portuguese public collections.” MMP requested three opinions on this piece.
A proposal was also made to the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport to classify a plaster model of the equestrian statue of D. José I by Machado de Castro, belonging to the collection of the Lisbon Military Museum, as a national treasure.
Additionally, announcements proposing the classification of the Treasury of the Chapel of São João Baptista from the Church and Museum of São Roque in Lisbon, as well as the 518 pieces forming the Bombarda Collection from the Miguel Bombarda Hospital, also in Lisbon, were published in the Diário da República.
