Arts Council England (ACE) today became the second major cultural organisation to criticise Croydon Council's plans to auction off Chinese dynasty antiques worth £13m. 

The influential body, which allocates millions of pounds of grants to cultural groups each year, warned the proposed sell-off of the 24 most expensive items in the Riesco collection would fall short of national standards required of accredited museums.

A museum losing its accreditation would make it ineligible for certain types of funding.

Last month Museums Assocation, the largest organisation representing the UK's museum sector, said the sale would be unethical and could damage public confidence in museums.

ACE, one of five organisations consulted by Croydon Council on the sell-off, today urged the authority to ensure the borough's residents did not lose access to the collection. 

Your Local Guardian: A porcelain cake box from the Wanli period (1573 -1619) is set to go under the hammerYour Local Guardian:

A porcelain cake box from the Wanli period (left, 1573 -1619) and a saucer dish from the Jiajing period (1522- 66)

Scott Furlong, director of the Acquisitions, Exports, Loans and Collections Unit at Arts Council England, said: “The current proposals to sell items from the Riesco Collection do not meet the nationally agreed standards of museum practice which are required by the accreditation scheme. 

"We would welcome a dialogue with Croydon Council and other stakeholders to discuss the proposed sale, and seek an approach that would retain access to these important objects for the people of Croydon, as intended by the original acquisition."

Croydon Council wants to sell prize assets in the 230-piece collection, bequeathed to the borough by local businessman and collector Raymond Riesco in 1964, to raise money to refurbish Fairfield Halls. 

It claims it could not afford to insure the whole collection, which includes ninth-century tomb models and valuable Ming china and spans from Neolithic times to the 19th century.

 

Your Local Guardian: Your Local Guardian:

A porcelain pilgrim bottle from the Xuande period (1426-35)and a porcelain vase from the Kangxi period (1662-1722)

Much of the collection is currently on display in the Riesco Gallery, part of the Museum of Croydon in the Croydon Clocktower.

Croydon Council is consulting with Arts Council England, the British Museum, the Horniman Museum, the Local Studies Forum and the Museum of London on the sale.

The plans are due to go before the council's Corporate Services Committee on July 24.