But why did it have to come to this? Why aren’t such pre-eminent collections, which are a key part of Britain’s heritage, better protected? The Wedgwood Collection was held as a trust. Yet, in December 2011, the High Court ruled that the collection could be sold to pay the company’s creditors. Nearly two years later the Administrator agreed a value of £15.75 million for the collection and gave the Art Fund one year to raise the amount to keep the collection intact. Selling the collection would have meant splitting it into lots and being scattered across the globe. How have archives come to be treated as a commodity to be bought and sold in such a cavalier fashion and to have such high prices put on them? How vulnerable are other collections that have moved to trust status, believing that this afforded them some protection?