Lord Lever favoured the blue-and-white and enamelled Kangxi-period Chinese porcelain. He collected between 1894 and 1925 when European tastes were rapidly changing. Early in the period Chinese porcelain was as much desirable for decoration as it was interesting in itself; it complemented the 18th- century-style pre-occupation of many of Lever's contemporary collectors.

By 1910, the blue-and-white hawthorn jars had become sought after and enamelled famille noire porcelains priceless; towards the end of Lever's life, earlier dynasties were more favoured. After deciding to establish the Gallery in 1913, he broadened the scope of his purchases to include items of more general interest: carved headstones, glass pictures and Ming dynasty 'fahua' ceramics but his collection remained very conservative. That apart, the Gallery houses one of the finest collections of 17th and 18th century porcelain in the world.

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John Everett Millais 1828 - 1898	John William Waterhouse 1849 - 1917
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Joshua Reynolds 1723 - 1792

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