Henry Hope

Henry Philip Hope (June 8, 1774, in Amsterdam, Netherlands – December 5, 1839, in Kent, United Kingdom) was a collector of Dutch origin based in London. He was one of the heirs of the bank Hope & Co. without having been a banker himself but rather a famous collector of the arts and more particularly precious gems.

He is the son of Jan Hope and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven. He is the youngest brother of Thomas Hope and Adrian Elias Hope.

He was a great collector of gems, including the Hope Diamond (a blue diamond of 45.52 carats (9.104 g)) and a large pearl of 1,800 grains (or 90 g) which still bear the name of Hope.The catalog of his collection was published by Bram Hertz shortly after his death.

The conditions for the acquisition of the blue diamond remain uncertain. The archives found at the National Museum of Natural History leave no room for certainty.It may be possible that Henry Philip Hope acquired the French blue diamond after his flight in 1792.Records reveal that Henry Philip Hope also bought a 137-carat sapphire that had previously belonged to the Ruspoli family of Rome which was confused until 2013 with Louis XIV's "Grand Saphir".The Grand was of comparable weight, but has different facets (rhomboid instead of cushion).

When his brother, Adrian Elias Hope, died in 1834 with no wife or children, he inherited £500,000 (or £48,410,400 in 2020 currency).

In his book on precious stones, the French mineralogist René Just Haüy cites Henry Philip Hope as one of the most distinguished patrons of the arts of his time. When he died in 1839, his collection was viewed as "...one of most perfect collections of diamonds and precious stones that has, perhaps, ever been possessed by a private individual..."