16 MAY 1931, Page 3

The Howard Grace Cup It is pleasant to know that

the Duke of Norfolk's famous ivory cup, set in silver-gilt, is to become the property of the nation. The impoverished State would not buy it, but Lord Wakefield purchased it at Christie's on Tuesday for £11,000, so that it may go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. A cup that is traditionally associated with the martyred Thomas Becket, Henry II's Archbishop and victim, that was richly set for Queen Katharine of Aragon, and that has belonged to the Howards for centuries, has a very special significance for English people and justly takes its place—thanks to the muni- ficent benefactor—among the national treasures.