It could have been the jewellery sale of the year, a private collection that would have been the envy of auctioneers. We’re talking about the remarkable personal collection of renowned Sydney antique jewellery dealer Anne Schofield. But Schofield, who at 82 years of age still runs her celebrated shop in Woollahra, is not selling. Instead, she is donating 108 pieces of her rare and historic gemstone jewellery, worth close to $2 million, to Sydney’s Powerhouse museum in a gift that will transform the museum’s collections.

“It’s one of the most significant collection gifts in the Powerhouse’s history,” says the museum’s curator of decorative arts and design, Eva Czernis-Ryl.