A private collector has donated antique furniture, light fixtures, decorative objects and architectural pieces valued at more than $2 million to The Preservation Society of Newport County, the nonprofit that maintains and operates the Newport Mansions.
Dr. Sam Mandel and his wife, Annette, of Palm Beach, Fla., donated the pieces so they could be placed on public display “in an appropriate architectural setting, and reflect the period collections favored by turn-of-the century Newport residents,” according to Preservation Society Curator Paul Miller.
The centerpiece of the collection is a 17th-century Flemish Baroque silver- and brass-mounted ebony, red tortoiseshell and giltwood cabinet that is now on display at The Elms. Most of the items in the mansion replicate pieces in the original Berwind family collections that were sold at auction in the 1960s, before the Preservation Society acquired the house.
