David Collection

The David Collection, known in Danish as Davids Samling, is a museum of fine and applied art located on Kronprinsessegade 30 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1948 and admission-free, it is particularly noted for its holdings of Islamic art from the 8th to the 19th century, which constitute one of the largest such collections in Northern Europe. The museum is built around the private collections of Christian Ludvig David, a lawyer, businessman, and art collector who made his collection available to the public while still residing in the building.

The institution traces its origins to C. L. David, who re-acquired the family building at Kronprinsessegade 30 in 1917, established his residence there, and opened the upper floors to the public as exhibition space. On 12 December 1945, the collection and building became the independent C. L. David Foundation and Collection, and the museum formally opened in 1948. Upon David's death in 1960, the foundation became sole heir to his fortune. The exhibition space was repeatedly expanded and rebuilt as collections grew. In 1986, the foundation acquired the adjacent property at 32 Kronprinsessegade, where architect Vilhelm Wohlert, also known for designing the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, created a new gallery for the expanding Islamic miniature collection in 1990. From 2006 to 2009, the museum was closed for a major refurbishment and rearrangement, reopening on 15 May 2009.

The collection spans several distinct areas. Its Islamic holdings, the most celebrated component, cover almost the entire Islamic cultural sphere from Spain in the West to India in the East, dating from the 7th to the 19th centuries. The European and Danish collections encompass 18th-century European fine and applied art, works from the Danish Golden Age, and a small collection of Danish early modern art. All works in the Danish early modern art section were personally acquired by C. L. David. Specific European and Danish holdings include Chippendale and David Roentgen furniture, early Meissen porcelain and faience, silverware, and sculptures and ceramics by Danish artists from approximately 1880 to 1950.

Among the museum's notable works are paintings by Danish artists Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, Christen Købke, and Vilhelm Hammershøi, as well as French painters François Boucher and Jean-Baptiste Perronneau. The Danish early modern section includes works by Jens Ferdinand Willumsen. The Islamic miniature collection, which prompted the 1990 gallery expansion by Vilhelm Wohlert, represents a particular strength. The museum's porcelain holdings include significant early Meissen pieces, displayed in purpose-designed rooms.

The building at Kronprinsessegade 30 stands opposite the gardens of Rosenborg Castle on land granted by the king after the Copenhagen fire of 1795. Constructed between 1806 and 1807 in neoclassical style for Captain J. C. Krieger by his brother-in-law, city inspector J. H. Rawert, the house follows an L-shaped plan with three street-facing rooms, a dining room at the corner junction, and smaller rooms in the lateral wing. A later five-storey annex originally housed kitchens and servants' quarters. The building had been purchased by C. N. David in 1810, sold in 1830, and re-acquired by C. L. David in 1917. Architect Carl Petersen rebuilt the top floor around 1920, steepening the roof pitch to create two large skylighted rooms with neo-classical woodwork from oak salvaged from King Christian VI's dock, demolished in 1918. In 1928, Kaare Klint designed two Douglas fir-lined porcelain exhibition rooms with cases from Rudolf Rasmussen's workshop, still in use for the Islamic collection. The most recent rebuilding, completed in 2009, was executed by Wohlert Arkitekter.

The David Collection is located at Kronprinsessegade 30 in Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark. Admission is free. The museum is an independent institution governed by the C. L. David Foundation and Collection, which became the sole heir to C. L. David's fortune upon his death in 1960. Following its 2006-2009 closure for major refurbishment, the museum reopened on 15 May 2009 and continues to operate in its expanded premises, now encompassing both the original building and the adjacent property at 32 Kronprinsessegade.