Victoria and Albert Museum

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The Victoria and Albert Museum, National Museum of Art and Design

Established	1852, as the South Kensington Museum; renamed 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria and her late consort Albert
Collection Size	4.5 million objects
Museum Area	7.5 acres / 145 galleries
Location	On the corner of Cromwell Gardens and Exhibition Road in South Kensington, west London.
Visitor figures	2,400,000 (2006) [1]
Director	Mark Jones
Nearest tube station(s)	South Kensington. A tunnel links the station to the museums; in 2005 an entrance was opened linking the V&A's basement directly to the tunnel.
Website	www.vam.ac.uk

The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) is on the corner of Cromwell Gardens and Exhibition Road in South Kensington, west London. It specialises in applied and decorative arts. Entrance has been free since November 22, 2001, following a short period when the British Government had imposed first voluntary and then compulsory charges.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation 1.2 1900–1950 1.3 Since 1950 2 Architecture of the Museum 2.1 The Victorian period 2.2 The Edwardian period 2.3 The post war period 2.4 Recent years 2.5 The garden 3 Departments 3.1 Ceramics and Glass 3.2 Education 3.3 Far Eastern 3.4 Furniture and woodwork 3.5 Indian and South-East Asian 3.6 Islamic Middle East 3.7 Metalwork 3.8 National Art Library 3.9 Research and Conservation 3.10 Sculpture 3.11 Textiles and Dress 3.12 Theatre Museum 3.13 Word and Image 4 Collections 4.1 Cast courts 5 The galleries 5.1 Architecture 5.2 Asia 5.3 British Galleries 5.4 Ceramics 5.5 Contemporary 5.6 Fashion and jewellery 5.7 Furniture and furnishings 5.8 Glass 5.9 Periods and styles 5.10 Metalwork 5.11 Paintings and drawings 5.12 Photography 5.13 Prints and books 5.14 Sculpture 6 Exhibitions 7 Directors 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

The museum was established in 1852 as the South Kensington Museum under the control of the Science and Art Department, following the success of the Great Exhibition of 1851. This exhibition had revealed that, though Britain was the leading industrial nation, the quality of of its manufactured goods had begun to lag behind the best products from continental Europe. The museum was, in part, formed to raise the standards of education and design within the manufacturing sector. Along with the Natural History Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Albert Memorial and the Science Museum, these institutions form a cluster of cultural sites known informally as Albertopolis. The Museum's first director, Sir Henry Cole, was a utilitarian and joint organiser of the Great Exhibition who acquired some of the objects from the exhibition for the collection. Over the years, many important collections were added to the Museum's holdings. Originally, it contained both arts and sciences and was designed to inspire visitors with examples of achievement in both fields. It was believed at the time that this would help improve the tastes of consumers, manufacturers and designers, creating a virtuous circle that would benefit the culture and the economy.^[1] In 1855 the German architect Gottfried Semper at the request of Cole produced a design for the museum, but the design was reject by the Board of Trade as too expensive.^[2] The first refreshment rooms opened in 1857, the museum being the first in the world to provide such a facility. An innovation at the museum was late night opening introduced in 1858, made possible year round by the use of gas lighting, this was to enable in the words of Cole 'to ascertain practically what hours are most convenient to the working classes' this was to fulfill an early objective of the museum of providing artisans with access to the best in design. In these early years the practical use of the collection was very much emphasised as opposed to that of 'High Art' at the National Gallery and scholarship at the British Museum. This led to the transfer to the museum of The School of Design that had been founded in 1837 at Somerset House, after the transfer it was referred to as the Art School or Art Training School, later to become The Royal College of Art which finally achieved full independence in 1949. The laying of the foundation stone to the left of the main entrance of the Aston Webb building, on the 17th May 1899 was the last official public appearance by Queen Victoria, it was during this ceremony that the change of name from the South Kensington Museum to the Victoria and Albert Museum was made public.

[edit] 1900–1950

The opening ceremony for the Aston Webb building by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra took place on the 26th June 1909. The museum's former bronze front doors (found in the John Madejski Garden) placed James Watt (mechanics) on an equal footing to Titian (painting) and Humphry Davy (chemistry) with Michelangelo (sculpture) and Isaac Newton (astronomy) with Bramante (architecture). However, in 1913, the scientific collection was split off and formed the core of the Science Museum. Since then the museum has maintained its role of one of the world's greatest decorative arts collections. At the outbreak of World War II most of the collection was packed away and sent either to a underground quarry in Wiltshire, Montacute House in Somerset, or to a disused tunnel near Aldwych tube station. Large items were sand bagged and then bricked in where they were displayed. During the war some of the galleries were used between 1941 and 1944 as a school for children evacuated from Gibraltar. The South Court became a canteen, first for the Royal Air Force and later for Bomb Damage Repair Squads. Prior to the return of the collections after the war, the 'Britain Can Make It' exhibition was held between September and November 1946,^[3] attracting nearly a million and a half visitors.^[4] This was organised and held under the auspices of the Council of Industrial Design which had been established by central government in 1944 'to promote by all practicable means the improvement of design in the products of British industry', the success of the exhibition led to the planning of The Festival of Britain. By 1948 most of the collections had been returned to the museum, it had been decided by the director Sir Leigh Ashton to reorganise the galleries into primary galleries to display the finest works and material galleries that concentrated on a single area of the collections, prior to this all the galleries had been arranged by material.

[edit] Since 1950

As part of its outreach programme to young people, the V&A became the first museum in Britain to present a rock concert in July 1973. The V&A presented a combined concert/lecture by British progressive folk-rock band Gryphon. During the event, organized by then newly-appointed V&A Director Roy Strong and music producer Martin Lewis, the musicians explored the lineage of mediaeval music and instrumentation and related how those contributed to contemporary music 500 years later. This innovative approach to bringing young people to museums was a hallmark of the Directorship of Roy Strong and was subsequently emulated by some other British museums.

In the 1980s Sir Roy Strong renamed the museum as 'The Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Museum of Art and Design'. Strong's successor Elizabeth Esteve-Coll oversaw a turbulent period for the institution in which the museum's curatorial departments were re-structured leading to public criticism from some staff. Esteve-Coll's attempts to make the V&A more accessible included a criticised marketing campaign emphasising the cafe over the collection.

In 2001 'Future Plan' was launched, which involves redesigning all the galleries and public facilities in the museum that have yet to be remodelled. This is to ensure that the exhibits are better displayed, more information is available and the Museum meets modern expectations for museum facilities; it should take about ten years to complete the work.

The museum also runs the Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green; and the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden and used to run Apsley House. The Theatre Museum is now closed, although it is planned to reopen in new galleries in the V&A.

[edit] Architecture of the Museum

The building is Victorian and Edwardian. It covers 11 acres (45,000 m²) and has 145 galleries.^[5]

[edit] The Victorian period

The Victorian areas have a complex history, with piecemeal additions by different architects. Founded in May 1852 the museum started life at Marlborough House, but by September of that year it had been moved to Somerset House, it was not until 1856 that the museum moved to the present site. This area of London was known as Brompton but had been renamed South Kensington. The land was occupied by Brompton Park House, which was extended, most notably by the 'Brompton Boilers', which were starkly utilitarian iron galleries with a temporary look; they were later dismantled and used to build the V&A Museum of Childhood. The first building to be erected that still forms part of the museum was the Sheepshanks Gallery in 1857 on the eastern side of the garden; its architect was Captain Francis Fowke. The next major expansion was designed by the same architect: the North and South Courts, both of which opened by June 1862. They now form the galleries for temporary exhibitions and are directly behind the Sheepshanks Gallery. An ambitious scheme of decoration was developed for these new areas: a series of mosaic figures depicting famous European artists of the Medieval and Renaissance period were produced. These have now been removed to other areas of the museum. Also started were a series of frescos by Lord Leighton: Industrial Arts as Applied to War 1878–1880 and Industrial Arts Applied to Peace, which was started but never finished. To the east of this were additional galleries, the decoration of which was the work of another designer Owen Jones, these were the Oriental Courts (covering India, China and Japan) completed in 1863, none of this decoration survives,^[6] part of these galleries became the new galleries covering the 19th century, opened in December 2006. The last work by Fowke was the design for the range of buildings on the north side of the garden and the galleries on the west side of the garden, this includes the refreshment rooms, reinstated as the Museum Café in 2006, with the silver gallery above, (at the time the ceramics gallery), the top floor has a splendid lecture theatre although this is seldom open to the general public. The ceramic staircase in the northwest corner of this range of buildings was designed by F.W. Moody; all the architectural details are produced in moulded and coloured pottery. All the work on the north range was designed and built in 1864–1869. The style adopted for this part of the museum was Italian Renaissance, much use was made of terracotta, brick and mosaic, this north façade was intended as the main entrance to the museum with its bronze doors (see above), designed by Godfrey Sykes, who also designed the terracotta embellishments and the mosaic in the Pediment of the North Façade commemorating the Great Exhibition the profits from which helped to fund the museum. This building replaced Brompton Park House, which could then be demolished to make way for the south range.

The interiors of the three refreshment rooms were assigned to different designers. The Green Dining Room 1866–68 was the work of Philip Webb and William Morris, displays Elizabethan influences, the lower part of the walls are panelled in wood with a band of paintings depicting fruit and the occasional figure, with moulded plaster foliage on the main part of the wall and a plaster frieze around the decorated ceiling and stained glass windows. The Centre Refreshment Room 1865-77 was designed in a renaissance style by James Gamble, the walls and even the Ionic columns are covered in decorative and moulded ceramic tile, the ceiling consists of elaborate designs on enamelled metal sheets and matching stained glass windows, the marble fireplace^[7] was designed and sculpted by Alfred Stevens and was removed from Dorchester House prior to that building's demolition in 1929. The Grill Room 1876–81 was designed by Sir Edward Poynter, the lower part of the walls consist of blue and white tiles with various figures and foliage enclosed by wood panelling, above there are large tiled scenes with figures depicting the four seasons and the twelve months these were painted by ladies from the Art School then based in the museum, the windows are also stained glass, there is an elaborate cast iron grill still in place.

With the death of Fowke the next architect to work at the museum was Colonel (later Major General) Henry Scott (1822–83) also of the Royal Engineers. He designed to the north west of the garden the five-storey School for Naval Architects (also known as the science schools), now the Henry Cole Wing in 1867–72. Scott's assistant J.H. Wild designed the impressive staircase that rises the full height of the building, made from Cadeby stone the steps are 7 feet in length, the balustrades and columns are Portland stone. It is now used to house the joint V&A and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) architectural drawings library and the education centre to open in 2007. Continuing the style of the earlier buildings, various designers were responsible for the decoration, the terracotta embellishments were again the work of Godfrey Sykes, although Sgraffito was used to decorate the east side of the building designed by F.W. Moody, a final embellishment were the wrought iron gates made as late as 1885 designed by Starkie Gardner, these lead to a passage through the building. Scott also designed the two Cast Courts 1870–73 to the southeast of the garden (the site of the 'Brompton Boilers'), these vast spaces have ceilings 70 feet in height to accommodate the plaster casts of parts of famous buildings, including Trajan's Column (in two separate pieces). The final part of the museum designed by Scott was the Art Library and what is now the sculpture gallery on the south side of the garden, built 1877–83, the exterior mosaic panels in the parapet were designed by Reuben Townroe who also designed the plaster work in the library, Sir John Taylor designed the book shelves and cases, also this was the first part of the museum to have electric lighting. This completed the northern half of the site but left the museum without a proper façade.

[edit] The Edwardian period

The main façade, built from red brick and Portland stone, stretches 720 feet down Cromwell Road and then continues down Exhibition Road. It was designed by Aston Webb after winning a competition in 1891 to extend the museum. Construction took from 1899 to 1909.^[8] Stylistically it is a strange hybrid, although much of the detail belongs to the Renaissance there are medieval influences at work. The main entrance consisting of a series of shallow arches supported by slender columns and niches with twin doors separated by pier is Romanesque in form but Classical in detail. Likewise the tower above the main entrance has an open work crown, a feature of late Gothic architecture and a feature common in Scotland, but the detail is Classical. The main windows to the galleries are also mullioned and transomed, again a Gothic feature, the top row of windows are interspersed with statues of many of the British artists whose work is displayed in the museum. Prince Albert appears within the main arch above the twin entrances, Queen Victoria above the frame around the arches and entrance. These façades surround four levels of galleries. Other areas designed by Webb include the Entrance Hall and Rotunda, the East and West Halls, the areas occupied by the shop and Asian Galleries as well as the Costume Gallery. The interior makes much use of marble in the entrance hall and flanking staircases, although the galleries as originally designed were white with restrained classical detail and mouldings, very much in contrast to the elaborate decoration of the Victorian galleries, although much of this decoration was removed in the early twentieth century.^[9]

[edit] The post war period

The Museum survived the Second World War with only minor bomb damage. The worst loss was the Victorian stained glass on the Ceramics Staircase which was blown in when bombs fell near by; pock marks still visible on the façade of the museum were caused by shrapnel from the bombs.

In the immediate post-war years there was little money available for other than essential repairs. The 1950s and early 1960s saw little in the way of building work, the first major work was the creation of new storage space for books in the Art Library in 1966 and 1967. This involved flooring over Aston Webb's main hall to form the book stacks, with a new medieval gallery on the ground floor (now the shop, opened in 2006). Then the lower ground floor galleries in the south west part of the museum were redesigned, opening in 1978 to form the new galleries covering Continental art 1600–1800 (late Renaissance, Baroque through Rococo and neo-Classical). In 1974 the museum had acquired what is now the Henry Cole wing from the Royal College of Science. In order to adapt the building as galleries, all the Victorian interiors except for the staircase were recast during the remodelling. To link this to the rest of the museum, a new entrance building was constructed on the site of the former boiler house, the intended site of the Spiral, between 1978 and 1981. This building is of concrete and very functional, the only embellishment being the iron gates by Christopher Hay and Douglas Coyne of the Royal College of Art. These are set in the columned screen wall designed by Aston Webb that forms the façade.

[edit] Recent years

A few galleries were redesigned in the 1990s including: Indian, Japanese, Chinese, iron work, the main glass and the main silverware gallery, although this gallery was further enhanced in 2002 when some of the Victorian decoration was recreated. This included two of the ten columns having their ceramic decoration replaced and the elaborate painted designs restored on the ceiling. As part of the 2006 renovation the mosaic floors in the sculpture gallery were restored—most of the Victorian floors were covered in linoleum after the Second World War. After the success of the British Galleries, opened in 2001, it was decided to embark on a major redesign of all the galleries in the museum; this is known as 'Future Plan'. The plan is expected to take about ten years and was started in 2002. To date several galleries have been redesigned, notably, in 2002: the main Silver Gallery, Contemporary; in 2003: Photography, the main entrance, The Painting Galleries; in 2004: the tunnel to the subway leading to South Kensington tube station, New signage through out the museum, architecture, V&A and RIBA reading rooms and stores, metalware, Members' Room, contemporary glass, the Gilbert Bayes sculpture gallery; in 2005: portrait miniatures, prints and drawings, displays in Room 117, the garden, sacred silver and stained glass; in 2006: Central Hall Shop, Islamic Middle East, the new café, sculpture galleries. Several designers and architects have been involved in this work. Eva Jiricna designed the enhancements to the main entrance and rotunda, the new shop, the tunnel and the sculpture galleries. Gareth Hoskins was responsible for contemporary and architecture, Softroom, Islamic Middle East and the Members' Room.^[10]

Recently, controversy surrounded the museum's proposed building of an £80 million extension called The Spiral, designed by Daniel Libeskind, which was criticised as out of keeping with the architecture of the original buildings. The Spiral's design was described by some as looking like jumbled cardboard boxes. In September 2004, the museum's board of trustees voted to abandon the design after failing to receive funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.^[11]

[edit] The garden

The central garden was redesigned by Kim Wilkie and opened as the John Madejski Garden, on 5 July 2005. The design is a subtle blend of the traditional and modern, the layout is formal; there is an elliptical water feature lined in stone with steps around the edge which may be drained to use the area for receptions, gatherings or exhibition purposes. This is in front of the bronze doors leading to the refreshment rooms, a central path flanked by lawns leads to the sculpture gallery; the north, east and west sides have herbaceous borders along the museum walls with paths in front which continues along the south façade; in the two corners by the north façade there is planted an American Sweetgum tree; the southern, eastern and western edges of the lawns have glass planters which contain orange and lemon trees in summer, these are replaced by bay trees in winter. At night both the planters and water feature may be illuminated, and the surrounding façades lit to reveal details normally in shadow, especially noticeable are the mosaics in the loggia of the north façade. In summer a café is set up in the south west corner. The garden is also used for temporary exhibits of sculpture, for example a sculpture by Jeff Koons was shown in 2006.

[edit] Departments

[edit] Ceramics and Glass

Responsible for the extensive collection of porcelain, pottery, glassware and stained glass.

[edit] Education

The education department^[12] has wide-ranging responsibilities. It provides information for the casual visitor as well as for school groups, including integrating learning in the museum with the National Curriculum; it provides research facilities for students at degree level and beyond, with information and access to the collections. It also oversees the content of the Museum's web site in addition to publishing books and papers on the collections, research and other aspects of the Museum.

A new education suite occupying the two lower floors of the Henry Cole Wing is due to open in 2007. This will include lecture rooms and areas for use by schools, which will be available during school holidays for use by families, and will enable direct handling of items from the collection.

[edit] Far Eastern

Covers China, Japan and Korea.

[edit] Furniture and woodwork

Covers western furniture, panelling etc.

[edit] Indian and South-East Asian

Covers India pre independence boundaries so includes Pakistan and Bangladesh, plus Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Himalayan Kingdoms and Sri Lanka.

[edit] Islamic Middle East

Covers not just the Middle East but all the North African countries as well.

[edit] Metalwork

Includes iron work both wrought and cast, gold and silver ware, as well as items made of pewter, brass, copper and lead.

[edit] National Art Library

Responsible for books and manuscripts.

[edit] Research and Conservation

Research^[13] is a very important area of the Museum's work, and includes: identification and interpretation of individual objects; other studies contribute to systematic research, this develops the public understanding of the art and artefacts of many of the great cultures of the world; visitor research and evaluation to discover the needs of visitors and their experiences of the Museum. Since 1990 the Museum has published research reports^[14] these focus on all areas of the collections.

Conservation^[15] is responsible for the long-term preservation of the collections, and covers all the collections held by the V&A and the Museum of Childhood. The conservators specialise in particular areas of conservation. Areas covered by conservator's work include 'preventive' conservation this includes: performing surveys, assessments and providing advice on the handling of items, correct packaging, mounting and handling procedures during movement and display reduce risk of damaging objects. Activities include controlling the Museum environment (e.g. temperature and light) and preventing pests (insects) from damaging artefacts. The other major category is 'interventive' conservation, this includes: cleaning and reintegration to strengthen fragile objects, reveal original surface decoration, and restore shape. Interventive treatment makes an object more stable, but also more attractive and comprehensible to the viewer. It is usually undertaken on items that are to go on public display.

[edit] Sculpture

Covers western sculpture from 400 AD to 1914.

[edit] Textiles and Dress

Covers western costume as well as tapestries and textiles.

[edit] Theatre Museum

The Theatre Museum closed on 7 January 2007, the collections will be stored by the V&A but be available for research and exhibitions, with the long term intention of opening new galleries at the Museum.

[edit] Word and Image

Covers prints, drawings, paintings and photographs.

[edit] Collections

The museum has a huge range of collections of European, Indian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Islamic decorative arts, totalling 4 million items. It has galleries for sculpture, glass, jewellery, church plate, armour, weapons, costume, textiles, musical instruments, wrought iron, stained glass, metalwork, ceramics, furniture, architecture, photography, British watercolour artists and much more.^[16] Many recent acquisitions of new exhibits has been made possible only with the assistance of the National Art Collections Fund.

The V&A also houses:

• Britain's national collection of sculpture up to 1914, including Bernini's fountain of Neptune and Triton and Canova's The Three Graces
• The national collection of photography
• The national collection of miniature paintings
• The national art library
• The national collection of metalware including silver
• The national collection of ceramics and glass
• The national collection of architectural drawings
• The national collection of British watercolours and drawings
• The national collection of jewellery
• The national collection of textiles
• The national collection of wallpaper

[edit] Cast courts

Main article: Cast Courts (Victoria and Albert Museum)

One of the most dramatic parts of the museum is the Cast Courts in the sculpture wing, comprising two large, skylighted rooms two storeys high housing hundreds of plaster casts of sculptures, friezes and tombs. One of these is dominated by a full-scale replica of Trajan's Column, cut in half in order to fit under the ceiling. The other includes reproductions of various works of Italian Renaissance sculpture and architecture, including a full-size replica of Michelangelo's David. Replicas of two earlier Davids by Donatello and Verrocchio, are also included, although for conservation reasons the Verrocchio replica is displayed in a glass case.

The two courts are divided by corridors on both storeys, and the partitions that used to line the upper corridor (the Gilbert Bayes sculpture gallery) were removed in 2004 in order to allow the courts to be viewed from above.

[edit] The galleries

Due to a series of thefts from the museum, many of the older galleries have been closed to the public and will only be open on certain dates. This will continue until the galleries have been redesigned, as the old glass cases are especially easy to break into. The areas that are closed include: the ceramics, Medieval and Renaissance although highlights of the collection are on show, Baroque and Rococo and the 18th century galleries and jewellery. These galleries are due to reopen in 2008 or 2009.

The museum has around 150 galleries that are divided into the following areas, but given the vast extent of the collections only a small percentage is ever on display.

[edit] Architecture

The only permanent displays in the country that cover the general history of architecture, using models, photographs, elements from buildings and original drawings, are to be found in a new V&A gallery which opened on November 18, 2004, the smaller gallery is used for changing exhibits based around the architectural drawings in the collection, these usually either cover a particular period or follow the development of a building type. The RIBA Architectural Drawings Library has been transferred to the museum, joining the already extensive collection held by the V&A to form the largest such collection in the world, with over 600,000 architectural drawings, over 750,000 papers, including architectural diaries, travel journals, letters, notebooks, essays, papers and office archives and over 700,000 photographs of architecture from around the world.^[17]

Not only are all the major British architects of the last four hundred years represented, but many European (especially Italian^[18]) and American architects' drawings are held in the collection. The holdings of drawings by Palladio are the largest in the world,^[19] other Europeans well represented are Jaques Gentilhatre^[20] and Antonio Visentini^[21]. British architects whose drawings, and in some cases models of their buildings, in the collection, include: Inigo Jones,^[22] Sir Christopher Wren,^[23] Sir John Vanbrugh,^[24] Nicholas Hawksmoor,^[25] William Kent, James Gibbs, Robert Adam,^[26] Sir William Chambers,^[27] James Wyatt, Henry Holland (architect), John Nash, Sir John Soane,^[28] Sir Charles Barry, Charles Robert Cockerell, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin,^[29] Sir George Gilbert Scott, John Loughborough Pearson, Richard Norman Shaw, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Charles Rennie MacKintosh,^[30] Charles Holden, Lord Richard Rogers, Lord Norman Foster, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and Zaha Hadid.

As well as period rooms, the collection includes parts of buildings, for example the two top stories of the facade of Sir Paul Pindar's house^[31] dated c1625 from Bishopsgate with elaborately carved wood work and leaded windows, a rare survivor of the Great Fire of London, there is a brick portal from a London house of the English Restoration period and a fireplace from the gallery of Northumberland house. European examples include a dormer window dated 1523-35 from the chateau of Montal. There are several examples from Italian Renaissance buildings including, portals, fireplaces, balconies and a stone buffet that used to have a built in fountain. The main architecture gallery has a series of pillars from various buildings and different periods, for example a column from the Alhambra. Examples covering Asia are in those galleries concerned with those countries, as well as models and photographs in the main architecture gallery.

[edit] Asia

This covers India, China, Japan, Korea, South East Asia and the Islamic world which includes North Africa and Turkey.

The Jameel Gallery of the Islamic Middle East opened on 18 July 2006. The 400 objects displayed represent about 10% of the museum's holdings. A highlight of the Islamic collection is the Ardabil Carpet, which is the centrepiece of the gallery. The displays in this gallery cover the period from the 8th century to 1914, with objects from Spain, North Africa the Middle East and Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. A masterpiece of Islamic art is a 10th-century ewer carved from a single block of rock crystal. Many examples of Qur'āns with exquisite calligraphy dating from various periods are on display. A 15th-century Minbar from a Cairo mosque with ivory forming complex geometrical patterns inlaid in wood is one of the larger objects on display. Extensive examples of ceramics^[32] especially Iznik pottery,^[33] glasswork^[34] including 14th century lamps from mosques and metalwork are on display. The collection of Middle Eastern and Persian rugs and carpets is amongst the finest in the world, many were part of the Salting Bequest of 1909. Examples of tile work from various buildings including a fireplace dated 1731 from Istanbul made of intricately decorated blue and white tiles and turquoise tiles from the exterior of buildings from Samarkand are displayed.

The Nehru gallery of Indian art, which opened in June 1991, contains art from about 500 BC to the 19th century. There is an extensive collection of sculpture, mainly of a religious nature, Hindu, Buddhist^[35] and Jain. The gallery is richly endowed with art of the Mughal Empire, including fine portraits of the emperors and other paintings and drawings,^[36] jade wine cups and gold spoons inset with emeralds, diamonds and rubies, also from this period are parts of buildings such as jaali and pillars. India was a large producer of textiles, from dyed cotton chintz, muslin to rich embroidery work using gold and silver thread, coloured sequins and beads is displayed, as are carpets from Agra and Lahore. Examples of clothing are also displayed.^[37] One of the more unusual items on display in the Indian Gallery is 'Tipu's Tiger', an automaton and mechanical organ made in Mysore around 1795. It represents a tiger mauling a soldier or officer of the British East India Company. It is named after the ruler of Mysore who commissioned it, Tipu Sultan. In 1879-80 the collections of the British East India Company's India Museum were given to the V&A and the British Museum.

The T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese art opened in June 1991. The majority of art works on display date from the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, but objects dating from the Tang Dynasty and earlier periods are on display, for example a metre high bronze head of Buddha dated to the c750 AD and one of the oldest items a 2,000 year old jade horse head from a burial other sculptures include life size tomb guardians.^[38] Classic examples of Chinese manufactures that are displayed include lacquer, silk, porcelain, jade and cloisonné enamel. Two large ancestor portraits of a husband and wife painted in watercolour on silk date from the 18th century. There is a unique lacquer table,^[39] made in the imperial workshops during the reign of Emperor Xuande. Examples of clothing are also displayed.^[40] One of the largest objects is a mid 17th century bed. The work of contemporary Chinese designers is also displayed.

The Toshiba gallery of Japanese art opened in December 1986. The majority of exhibits date from 1550 to 1900, but one of the oldest pieces displayed is the 13th century sculpture of Amida Nyorai. Examples of classic Japanese armour from the mid 19th century, magnificent steel sword blades (Katana),^[41] Inro, lacquerware^[42] including the Mazarin Chest^[43] dated c1640 is one of the finest surviving pieces from Kyoto, porcelain including Imari, Netsuke, woodblock prints including the work of Ando Hiroshige,^[44] graphic works include printed books, as well as a few paintings, scrolls and screens, textiles and dress including kimonos are some of the objects on display.

The smaller galleries cover Korea, the Himalayan kingdoms and South East Asia. Korean displays include green-glazed ceramics, silk embroideries from officials' robes and gleaming boxes inlaid with mother-of-pearl made between 500 AD and 2000. Himalayan items include important early Nepalese bronze sculptures, repoussé work and embroidery. Tibetan art from the 14th to the 19th century is represented by notable 14th and 15th century religious images in wood and bronze, scroll paintings and ritual objects. Art from Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in gold, silver, bronze, stone, terracotta and ivory represents these rich and complex cultures, the displays span the 6th to 19th centuries. Refined Hindu and Buddhist sculptures reflect the influence of India; items on show include betel-nut cutters, ivory combs and bronze palanquin hooks.

[edit] British Galleries

These fifteen galleries — which opened in November 2001 — contain around 4000 items. The displays in these galleries are based around three major themes: 'Style', 'Who Led Taste' and 'What Was New'. The period covered is 1500 to 1900, the galleries fall into three major subdivisions; Tudor and Stuart Britain 1500–1714, This covers the Renaissance, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Restoration and Baroque styles; Georgian Britain 1714–1837, this covers Palladianism, Rococo, Chinoiserie, Neoclassicism, the Regency, as well as continuing classical influences includes Chinese, Indian and Egyptian styles, also the Gothic Revival; Victorian Britain 1837–1901, this covers the later more scholarly phase of the Gothic Revival, French influences, Classical and Renaissance revivals, Aestheticism, Japanese style, continuing influence from China, Indian and the Islamic world, the Arts and Crafts movement and the Scottish School.

Not just the work of British artists and craftspeople is on display, but work produced by European artists that was purchased or commissioned by British patrons. Also imports from Asia, including porcelain, cloth and wallpaper. Designers and artists whose work is on display in the galleries include Gian Lorenzo Bernini,^[45] Grinling Gibbons,^[46] Daniel Marot, Sir James Thornhill, William Kent,^[47] Sir William Chambers,^[48] Robert Adam,^[49][50] Josiah Wedgwood,^[51] Matthew Boulton,^[52] Eleanor Coade,^[53] Canova,^[54] John Constable, Thomas Chippendale,^[55] Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin,^[56] William Morris,^[57] William Burges^[58], Christopher Dresser,^[59] James McNeill Whistler and Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Patrons who have influenced taste are also represented by works of art from their collections, these include: Horace Walpole^[60][61] (a major influence on the Gothic Revival), William Thomas Beckford^[62][63] and Thomas Hope.^[64][65]

Over the four centuries covered, the people influencing style are seen to change over time, in the early sixteenth century the Church prior to the Reformation and the British Monarchy dominated taste, but as time passed first the aristocracy, then also the middle class begin to have a greater and greater influence on taste. This mirrors rising national wealth and power, as British trade spread around the globe followed by the founding and expansion of the British Empire.

There are five complete rooms from demolished buildings displayed in the galleries, these are: The parlour from the Old Palace Bromley-by-Bow dated 1606 with carved Renaissance-style oak panelling, overmantel and richly decorated plaster ceiling: the parlour from 2 Henrietta Street London dated 1727–28 designed by James Gibbs with an elaborate ceiling and fireplace; the Norfolk House Music Room,^[66] St James Square London dated 1756, designed by Matthew Brettingham and Giovanni Battista Borra, the white panelling and ceiling have carved and gilded Rococo decoration with matching mirrors; the Strawberry Room from Lee Priory Kent, dated 1783–94 designed by James Wyatt in a Gothick style: the Ante-room from The Grove Harborne, Birmingham 1877–78 designed by John Henry Chamberlain in High-Victorian Neo-Gothic style. Further there are displays of parts of rooms: the Hayes Grange^[67] c1585–c1620 is an early example for Britain of the correct use of the classical orders, only the end wall and part of the ceiling is displayed due to the size of the room. There are parts of two Robert Adam designed rooms on show, a section of a wall from the Glass Drawing Room from Northumberland House dated 1773–1775, the main panels consist of glass back by red foil, the pilasters glass backed with green foil and covered by elaborate carvings of gilded wood, and there is a neo-classical painting inset above the door, the other room comes from the Adelphi Buildings^[68] c1772, demolished in 1936, only the ceiling and fireplace survive.^[69]

Some of the more notable works displayed in the galleries include: Pietro Torrigiani's coloured terracotta bust of Henry VII dated 1509–11; The Dacre Heraldic Beasts, extraordinary 2 metre high carvings of a bull, gryphon, ram and salmon, in realistic colours, dated 1519-21;^[70] Henry VIII's writing box dated 1525 made from walnut and oak, lined with leather and painted and gilded with the king's coat of arms; A spinet dated 1570–1580 for Elizabeth I: the Great Bed of Ware,^[71] dated 1590–1600, an elaborately carved four poster with head board inlaid with marquetry, said to sleep twelve people; portrait by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger dated^[72] c1620 of Margaret Laton and the actual embroidered jacket^[73] that the sitter is wearing in the painting; Bernini's bust of Thomas Barker dated c1638; the Mortlake tapestry dated to the mid-seventeenth century part of a series covering the story Venus and Vulcan; the state bed from Melville House dated 1700, over 4.6 metres high with hangings of crimson Italian velvet and Chinese silk linings; a unique set of silverware is the Macclesfield Wine Set, dated 1719–1720, it consists of a large wine cooler, cistern and fountain the last for washing wine glasses, the work of Anthony Nelme, this is the only complete set known to survive;^[74] the life size sculpture of George Frederick Handel^[75] dated 1738 by Louis-François Roubiliac; the Duchess of Manchester's cabinet dated 1776, designed by Robert Adam and incorporating Pietra Dura plaques made by Baccio Cappelli; there are two sculptures by Canova that are displayed alternately, The Three Graces^[76] dated 1815–17, when this is on display at The National Galleries of Scotland, then The Sleeping Nymph^[77] dated 1822 is displayed instead. The painting of Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds, dated 1823 by John Constable; the sculpture of Bashaw^[78] dated 1831–34, this is a life like sculpture of the Earl of Dudley's dog made from coloured marble, the dog has a paw on a writhing snake equally life like, the sculptor was Matthew Cotes Wyatt; A Carpet and tapestry^[79] by William Morris; the Sideboard dated 1867–70 of ebonized mahogany and silver-plated metal work by Edward William Godwin,^[80] furniture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.^[81]

The influences on design that were new in different periods and explored in the displays, include: in the Tudor period, the spread of the printed book, the increasing employment of European artists and craftsmen and in the late 16th century, the establishment of tapestry weaving at the Sheldon works; in the Stuart period the increase in trade especially with Asia brought luxuries like carpets, lacquerware furniture, silk and porcelain, with in reach of more of the population, new forms of furniture appearing in the domestic setting such as bookcases and sofas and the increasing use of upholstery; in the Georgian age there is a growth in entertainment Vauxhall Gardens being an example, the growth in tea drinking and associated paraphernalia such as china, caddies and tables, the influence of the Grand Tour on taste, the growth of mass production as the Industrial Revolution takes hold, producing entrepreneurs such as Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton and Eleanor Coade; displays on the Victorian era investigate the impact of new technology on manufacturing with examples of the use of newly invented machinery, also for the first time since the reformation the church both Anglican and Roman Catholic have a major impact on art and design especially the Gothic revival commissioning art and architecture on a large scale, there is a large display on the Great Exhibition, that amongst other things led to the founding of the V&A, there is also the backlash against industrialisation led by John Ruskin, that would lead to the Arts and Crafts movement a pioneer of which was William Morris.

[edit] Ceramics

This is the largest and most comprehensive collection in the world with over 75,000 objects in the collection, covering the entire globe, every populated continent is represented.^[82][83][84]

Well represented in the collection is Meissen porcelain,^[85] this factory being the first in Europe to discover the Chinese method of making porcelain, amongst the finest examples is the Meissen Vulture dating from 1731.^[86] Examples from the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres are extensive, especially the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection of 18th century British porcelain is the largest and finest in the world, examples from every factory are represented, the collection of Chelsea porcelain^[87][88] and Worcester Porcelain being especially fine. All the major nineteenth century British factories are also represented. A major boost to the collections was the Salting Bequest made in 1909, which covered amongst other areas Chinese and Japanese ceramics, this forms part of the finest collection of East Asian pottery and porcelain in the world, Kakiemon being amongst the wares displayed.

Many famous potters, such as Josiah Wedgwood, William Frend De Morgan^[89] and Bernard Leach are represented in the collection, as indeed is pottery from earlier periods.^[90] There is an extensive collection of Delftware produced in both Britain and Holland.^[91] The largest objects in the collection are a series of ceramic stoves mainly dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, made in Germany and Switzerland, they have elaborate mouldings and ornament and some are decorated with coloured schemes. There is unrivalled collection of Italian maiolica^[92] and lustreware from Spain. The collection of Iznik pottery from Turkey is the largest in the world. All the ceramics galleries are presently closed except on advertised dates, but with the help of a grant from the Headley Trust the first of the remodelled galleries should open in 2009.

[edit] Contemporary

These galleries are dedicated to temporary exhibits showcasing both trends from recent decades and the latest in design and fashion.

[edit] Fashion and jewellery

The costume collection is the most comprehensive in Britain, containing over 14,000 outfits or items, it mainly covers the last four centuries and the latest in couture is added to the collection,^[93] also the collection includes designs on paper, also textiles with over 30,000 examples, mainly western European though all populated continents are represented, dating from 3rd century AD to the present, this is the largest such collection in the world.^[94] As everyday clothing from previous eras has not generally survived the collection is dominated by fashionable clothes made for special occasions. Some of the oldest items in the collection are medieval vestments^[95][96] especially Opus Anglicanum.^[97][98] One of the most important items in the collection is the wedding suite of James II of England^[99] this is displayed in the British Galleries. Some of the largest bequests of costume were in 1913 the Harrods collection containing 1,442 costumes and items, in 1971 the Cecil Beaton collection of 1,200 costumes and items, and in 2002 the Costiff collection of 178 Vivienne Westwood costumes. Other famous designers with work in the collection include Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Zandra Rhodes, Mary Quant, Jean Muir and Pierre Cardin.^[100]

The jewellery collection with over 6,000 items, covers, amongst other periods, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Medieval period,^[101][102] Elizabethan jewels,^[103][104] the 17th century, 18th century, 19th century^[105][106] and on to the present day, there are also designs on paper. Some of the finest pieces are by Cartier, Peter Carl Fabergé and Lalique,^[107] other items in the collection include diamond dress ornaments made for Catherine the Great, bracelet clasps once belonging to Marie Antoinette and the Beauharnais emerald necklace presented by Napoleon to his adopted daughter in 1806.^[108] Modern jewellery is represented by designers such as Gerda Flockinger and Wendy Ramshaw. Not just western jewellery is in the collection, but also African^[109] and Asian. Major bequests include Lady Cory's, who in 1951 gave a collection of jewels that included major diamond jewellery from the 18th and 19th centuries. Dame Joan Evans, a pre-eminent jewellery scholar, gave more than 800 jewels, dating from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. A new jewellery gallery, largely paid for by William and Judith Bollinger, is due to open in 2008.

[edit] Furniture and furnishings

The furniture and furnishings collection covers Britain, Europe and America from the Middle Ages to the present. The collection contains over 14,000 items that: include tapestries^[110][111] including examples from the Gobelins workshop,^[112] carpets, complete rooms, musical instruments, clocks, as well as furniture mainly western dating from the middle ages to the present, though the majority of the furniture is British dating between 1700 and 1900.^[113] also the national collection of wallpaper is held by the museum.

There are two complete 18th-century rooms from the continent on display: the Serilly 'cabinet', dated 1778, with exquisitely painted panelling from Paris and a glittering Italian 'cabinet' of 1780, elliptical in plan with a mirrored domed ceiling and elaborate parquet floor.

The Soulages collection of Italian and French Renaissance objects were acquired between 1859 and 1865. The Jones Collection covering French 18th century art and furnishings was left to the museum in 1882, then valued at £250,000, one of the most important pieces in this collection is a marquetry commode by the ébéniste Jean-Henri Riesener dated c1780, another signed piece of furniture in the collection is a bureau by Jan Simon Oeben, and as well as furniture there are also, paintings, ceramics including an outstanding collection of Sèvres, goldsmiths' work, ormolu work, enamels, sculpture, tapestry, books and prints. Sir George Donaldson presented several pieces of art nouveau furniture to the museum which he acquired from the Paris Exposition Universelle, though this was criticised at the time, the result being that the museum ceased to collect contemporary items, and did not do so again until the 1960s. In 1986 the Lady Abingdon collection of French Empire furniture was bequeathed by Mrs T.R.P. Hole.

One of the finest pieces of continental furniture in the collection is the Rococo Augustus Rex Bureau Cabinet dated c1750 from Germany, with especially fine marquetry and ormolu mounts. One of the grandest pieces of 19th century furniture is the highly elaborate French Cabinet dated 1861–1867 made by M. Fourdinois, made from ebony inlaid with box, lime, holly, pear, walnut and mahogany woods as well as marble with gilded carvings. Furniture designed by Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner are among the late 19th and early 20th century examples in the collection. The work of modernists in the collection include Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames and Eileen Gray. The work of Frank Lloyd Wright is represented by the Kaufmann Office designed and constructed between 1934 and 1937 for the owner of a Pittsburgh department store;^[114] not currently on display due to the closure of the Cole Wing for redevelopment as the new education centre — as well as other furniture and furnishings.^[115] Contemporary designers represented in the collection include Ron Arad (industrial designer). One of the highlights of the collection is the four Devonshire Hunting Tapestries,^[116] very rare medieval tapestries depicting the hunting of various animals; not just their age but their size make these unique. The most important musical instrument in the collection is a violin by Antonio Stradivari dated 1699.

[edit] Glass

The collection covers 4000 years of glass making, and has over 6000 items from Africa,^[117] Britain, Europe, America and Asia. The earliest glassware on display comes from Ancient Egypt and continues through the Ancient Roman, Medieval, Renaissance covering areas such as Venetian Glass and Bohemian glass^[118] and more recent periods. There are many examples of crystal chandeliers both English,^[119] displayed in the British galleries and foreign for example Venetian are in the collection. The Stained Glass collection is possibly the finest in the world, covering the medieval to modern periods, and covering Europe as well as Britain. Many well known designers of stained glass are represented in the collection including Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris.^[120] There is also an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's work in the collection.^[121] Modern designers include Harry Clarke, John Piper (artist), Patrick Reyntiens and Brian Clarke.^[122]

The main gallery was redesigned in 1994, the glass balustrade on the staircase and mezzanine are the work of Danny Lane, the gallery covering contemporary glass opened in 2004 and the sacred silver and stained glass gallery in 2005. In this latter gallery stained glass is displayed along side silverware starting in the 12th century and continuing to the present. Some of the most outstanding stained glass comes from the Sainte Chapelle, which will be displayed in the new medieval galleries due to open in 2009. Examples of British stained glass^[123] are displayed in the British Galleries. One of the most spectacular items in the collection is the chandelier by Dale Chihuly in the rotunda at the museum's main entrance.

[edit] Periods and styles

These galleries cover an entire period in western design, objects on display cover all areas of the museum's collections relevant to that period, these are: Medieval and Renaissance; Baroque and Rococo; 18th century including Neoclassicism; 19th century including, Empire Style, Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau; 20th century including, Art Deco and Modernism. All these galleries are closed but due to reopen by 2008 or 2009.

[edit] Metalwork

This collection of over 45,000 items covers decorative ironwork, both wrought and cast, bronze, silverware, arms and armour,^[124] pewter, brassware and enamels.^[125] The main iron work gallery was redesigned in 1995.

There are over 10,000 objects made from silver or gold in the collection, the display (about 15% of the collection) is divided into secular^[126] and sacred^[127] covering both Christian (Roman Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox) and Jewish liturgical vessels and items. The main silver gallery is divided into these areas: British silver pre-1800; British silver 1800 to 1900; modernist to contemporary silver; European silver. The collection includes the earliest known piece of English silver with a dated hallmark, this is a silver gilt beaker^[128] dated 1496–97.

Silversmiths' whose work is represented in the collection include Paul de Lamerie^[129][130] and Paul Storr whose Castlereagh Inkstand^[131] dated 1817–19 is one of his finest works. Also the master of wrought ironwork Jean Tijou is represented by both examples of his work and designs on paper. One of the largest items is the Hereford Screen,^[132] weighing nearly 8 tonnes, 10.5 metres high and 11 metres wide, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862 for the chancel in Hereford Cathedral, from which it was removed in 1967. It was made by Skidmore & Company. Its structure of timber and cast iron is embellished with wrought iron, burnished brass and copper. Much of the copper and ironwork is painted in a wide range of colours. The arches and columns are decorated with polished quartz and panels of mosaic.^[133]

One of the rarest items in the collection is the 58 cm high Gloucester Candlestick,^[134] dated to c1110, made from gilt bronze; with highly elaborate and intricate intertwining branches containing small figures and inscriptions, it is a tour de force of bronze casting. Also of importance is the Becket Casket^[135] dated c1180 to contain relics of St Thomas Becket, made from gilt copper, with enamelled scenes of the saint's martyrdom. Another highlight is the Reichenau Crozier^[136] dated 1351. These items will be displayed in the new medieval galleries due to open in 2009.

The Burghley Nef,^[137] a salt-cellar, French, dated 1527-28, uses a nautilus shell to form the hull of a vessel, which rests on the tail of a parcelgilt mermaid, who rests on a hexagonal gilt plinth on six claw-and-ball feet. Both masts have main and top-sails, and battlemented fighting-tops are made from gold. This will be displayed in the new Renaissance Galleries due to open 2009.

[edit] Paintings and drawings

The collection includes c1,130 British and c650 European oil paintings; c6,800 British watercolours, pastels and c2,000 miniatures, for which the museum holds the national collection. It includes the Raphael Cartoons:^[138] the seven surviving (there were ten) full scale designs for tapestries in the Sistine Chapel, the subject matter being events from the Gospels, specifically the Acts of the Apostles. There is also on display a fresco by Pietro Perugino dated 1522 from the church of Castello di Fortignano Perugia and is amongst the painter's last works. One of the largest objects in the collection is the Spanish tempera on wood, 670 x 486 cm, retable of St George, c1400, consisting of many scenes and painted by Andrés Marzal De Sax in Valencia.

Nineteenth century British artists are well represented. John Constable and J.M.W. Turner are represented by oil paintings, water colours and drawings. One of the most unusual objects on display is Thomas Gainsborough's experimental showbox with its back-lit landscapes, which he painted on glass,^[139] which allowed them to be changed like slides. Other landscape painters with works on display include Philip James de Loutherbourg, Peter de Wint and John Ward.

In 1857 John Sheepshanks gifted 233 paintings, mainly by contemporary British artists, and a similar number of drawings to the museum with the intention of forming a 'A National Gallery of British Art', a role since taken on by Tate Britain; artists represented are William Blake, James Barry , Henry Fuseli, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Sir David Wilkie , William Mulready, William Powell Frith, Millais and Hippolyte Delaroche. Although some of Constable's works came to the museum with the Sheepshanks bequest, the majority of the artist's works were donated by his daughter Isabel in 1888,^[140] including the large number of sketches in oil, the most significant being the 1821 full size oil sketch^[141] for the The Hay Wain. This sketch is almost impressionistic compared to the completed painting in the National Gallery, London. Other Oil paintings include works by Francis Hayman.^[142][143]

Richard Ellison's collection of 100 British watercolours was given by his widow in 1860 and 1873 'to promote the foundation of the National Collection of Water Colour Paintings'. Over 500 British and European oil paintings, watercolours and miniatures and 3000 drawings and prints were bequeathed in 1868-9 by the clergymen Chauncey Hare Townshend and Alexander Dyce.

Several French paintings entered the collection as part of the 260 paintings and miniatures (not all the works were French) that formed part of the Jones bequest of 1882 and as such are displayed in the galleries of continental art 1600-1800, including the portrait of the Duc d'Alençon by François Clouet and works by François Boucher, Jean François de Troy and their contemporaries.

Another major Victorian benefactor was Constantine Alexander Ionides, who left 82 oil paintings to the museum in 1901, including works by Botticelli, Tintoretto, Adriaen Brouwer, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Jean-François Millet, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, plus watercolours and over a 1000 drawings and prints

The Salting Bequest of 1909 included, amongst other works, water colours by J.M.W. Turner. Other water colourists include: William Gilpin (clergyman),^[144] Thomas Rowlandson,^[145] William Blake,^[146] John Sell Cotman,^[147][148] Paul Sandby,^[149] William Mulready,^[150] Edward Lear,^[151] James Abbott McNeill Whistler^[152] and Paul Cezanne.^[153]

Miniaturists represented in the collection include Hans Holbein the Younger,^[154] Nicholas Hilliard,^[155][156] Isaac Oliver,^[157] Samuel Cooper,^[158] Rosalba Carriera and Richard Cosway.

Drawings in the collection of c10,000 British and c2,000 old master works, include work by: Dürer,^[159] Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione,^[160] Bernardo Buontalenti,^[161] Antonio Verrio,^[162] Paul Sandby,^[163] John Russell (painter),^[164] Angelica Kauffmann, John Flaxman,^[165] Hugh Douglas Hamilton,^[166] Thomas Rowlandson,^[167] Thomas Girtin,^[168] Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres,^[169] David Wilkie,^[170] John Martin (painter),^[171] Samuel Palmer, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer,^[172] Lord Frederic Leighton,^[173] Sir Samuel Luke Fildes^[174] and Aubrey Vincent Beardsley.^[175] Modern British artists represented in the collection include: Eric Gill,^[176] Stanley Spencer, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Lucien Freud and David Hockney. In order to conserve the drawings the displays in the gallery are changed regularly.

[edit] Photography

The collection contains over 500,000 images dating from the advent of photography.^[177] The gallery displays a series of changing exhibits and is closed when between exhibitions to allow re-display.

The collection includes the work of many photographers from Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Roger Fenton, Man Ray,^[178] Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, Cecil Beaton (there are over 8000 of his negatives), Don McCullin and Helen Chadwick to the present day.

[edit] Prints and books

The museum houses the National Art Library,^[179] containing over 750,000 books, mainly dedicated to the fine and decorative arts and covering all areas and periods of the museum's collections. There are special collections covering illuminated manuscripts, rare books and artists' letters and archives.

One of the great treasures in the library is the Codex Forster some of Leonardo da Vinci's note books, comprised of three parchment-bound manuscripts, Forster I, Forster II, and Forster III,^[180] quite small in size, dated between 1490 and 1505. Their contents include a large collection of sketches and references to the equestrian sculpture commissioned by the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza to commemorate his father Francesco Sforza. These were bequeathed with over 18,000 books to the museum in 1876 by John Forster.^[181] The Reverend Alexander Dyce^[182] was another benefactor of the library, leaving over 14,000 books to the museum in 1869. Amongst the books he collected are early editions in Greek and Latin of the poets and playwrights Aeschylus, Aristotle, Homer, Livy, Ovid, Pindar, Sophocles and Virgil. More recent authors include Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante, Racine, Rabelais and Molière.

Writers whose papers are in the library are as diverse as Charles Dickens and Beatrix Potter.^[183] Illuminated manuscripts in the library dating from the 12th to 16th centuries include: the Eadwine Psalter, Canterbury; Pocket Book of Hours, Rheims; Missal from the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis, Paris; the Simon Marmion Book of Hours, Bruges; 1524 Charter illuminated by Lucas Horenbout, London; the Armagnac manuscript of the trial and rehabilitation of Joan of Arc, Rouen.^[184] also the Victorian period is represented by William Morris.^[185]

The print collection has over 500,000 items, covering: posters, greetings cards, book plates, as well as prints from the renaissance to the present, including works by Rembrandt,^[186] William Hogarth, Karl Friedrich Schinkel,^[187] Henri Matisse^[188] and Sir William Nicholson.^[189]

[edit] Sculpture

This is the most comprehensive collection of post-classical sculpture in the world, there are over 17,000 objects in the collection that cover the period from about 400 AD to 1914. This covers amongst other periods Byzantine and Anglo Saxon ivory sculptures,^{[190][191][192]} British,^[193][194] French^{[195][196][197]} and Spanish^[198][199] medieval statues and carvings,^[200] the Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Victorian and Art Nouveau periods. All uses of sculpture are represented, from tomb and memorial, to portrait, allegorical, religious, mythical, statues for gardens including fountains, as well as architectural decorations. Materials used include, marble, alabaster, stone, terracotta, wood (history of wood carving), ivory, gesso, plaster, bronze,^[201] lead^[202] and ceramics.

The collection of Italian Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical sculpture (both original and in cast form) is unequalled outside of Italy. It includes Canova's The Three Graces, which the museum jointly owns with National Galleries of Scotland. Italian sculptors whose work is held by the museum include: Giovanni Pisano,^[203] Donatello,^{[204][205][206]} Agostino di Duccio,^[207] Andrea Riccio,^[208] Antonio Rossellino, Andrea del Verrocchio, Antonio Lombardo (sculptor),^[209] Andrea della Robbia, Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, Michelangelo (represented by a freehand wax model and casts of his most famous sculptures), Jacopo Sansovino,^[210] Alessandro Algardi,^[211] Antonio Calcagni,^[212] Benvenuto Cellini (Medusa's head dated c1547),^[213] Bartolomeo Ammanati, Gian Giacomo della Porta,^[214] Giambologna^[215] (Samson Slaying a Philistine c1562,^[216] his finest work outside Italy), Bernini (Neptune and Triton c1622–3^[217]),Vincenzo Foggini,^[218] Antonio Corradini, Andrea Brustolon,^[219] Canova,^[220] Carlo Marochetti and Raffaelle Monti. An unusual sculpture is the ancient Roman statue of Narcissus restored by Valerio Cioli c1564 with plaster. The largest item from Italy is the Chancel Chapel from Santa Chiara Florence dated 1493–1500, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo it is 11.1 metres in height by 5.4 metres square, it includes a grand sculpted tabernacle by Antonio Rossellino and coloured terracotta decoration.^[221]

Rodin is represented by over 20 works in the museum collection, making it one of the largest collections of the sculptor's work outside France; these were gifted to the museum by the sculptor in 1914, as acknowledgement of Britain's support of France in World War I, although the statue of St John the Baptist had been purchased in 1902 by public subscription. Other French sculptors with work in the collection are Hubert Le Sueur,^[222] François Girardon, Michel Clodion, Jean-Antoine Houdon,^[223] Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux^[224][225] and Jules Dalou.

Sculptors both British and Europeans who were based in Britain and whose work is in the collection include:^[226] Nicholas Stone, Caius Gabriel Cibber,^[227] Grinling Gibbons, John Michael Rysbrack,^[228][229] Louis-Francois Roubiliac, Peter Scheemakers, Sir Henry Cheere, Agostino Carlini, Thomas Banks, Joseph Nollekens, Joseph Wilton, John Flaxman, Sir Francis Chantrey, John Gibson, Edward Hodges Baily , Lord Leighton, Alfred Stevens,^[230] Thomas Brock , Alfred Gilbert,^[231] George Frampton, Eric Gill. A sample of some of these sculptors' work is on display in the British Galleries.

With the opening of the Dorothy and Michael Hintze sculpture galleries in 2006 it was decided to extend the chronology of the works on display up to 1950, this has involved loans by other museums, including Tate Britain, so works by Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein along with other of their contemporaries are now on view. These galleries concentrate on works dated 1600 to 1950 by British sculptors, works by continental sculptors who worked in Britain, and works bought by British patrons from the continental sculptors, such as Canova's Theseus and the Minotaur. The galleries overlooking the garden are arranged by theme, tomb sculpture, portraiture, garden sculpture and mythology. Then there is a section that covers late nineteenth and early twentieth century sculpture, this includes work by Rodin and other French sculptors such as Dalou who spent several years in Britain where he taught sculpture.

Smaller scale works are displayed in the Gilbert Bayes gallery, covering medieval especially English alabaster sculpture,^[232][233] bronzes, wooden sculptures and has demonstrations of various techniques such as bronze casting using Lost-wax casting.

The majority of the Medieval and Renaissance sculpture will be displayed in the new Medieval and Renaissance galleries in 2009.

One of the largest objects in the collection is the Hertogenbosch Roodloft,^[234] from Holland, dated 1610–1613 this is as much a work of architecture as sculpture, 10.4 metres wide, 7.8 metres high, the architectural framework is of various coloured marbles including columns, arches and balustrade, against which are statues and bas-reliefs and other carvings in alabaster, the work of sculptor Conrad van Norenberch.

[edit] Exhibitions

The V&A holds some of the most impressive exhibitions on art in London, this is in part because of the large galleries devoted to temporary exhibitions. A typical year will see over a dozen different exhibitions being staged covering all areas of the collections. Some of the larger exhibitions of recent years have been:

• Art Deco: 27 March – 20 July 2003
• Gothic Art for England 1400–1547: 9 October 2003 – 18 January 2004
• Encounters The Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800: 23 September – 5 December 2004
• International Arts and Crafts: 17 March – 24 July 2005
• Modernism Designing a New World: 6 April 2006 – 23 July 2006

[edit] Directors

Director	Served
Sir Henry Cole	1852 – 1873
Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen	1874 – 1893
John Henry Middleton	1893 – 1896
Sir Caspar Purdon Clarke	1896 – 1905
Arthur Banks Skinner	1905 – 1909
Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith	1909 – 1924
Sir Eric MacLagan	1924 – 1945
Sir Leigh Ashton	1945 – 1955
Sir Trenchard Cox	1956 – 1966
Sir John Pope-Hennessy	1967 – 1973
Sir Roy Strong	1973 – 1987
Dame Elizabeth Esteve-Coll	1987 – 1995
Dr Alan Borg	1995 – 2001
Mark Jones	2001 – present

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Victoria and Albert Museum official site
• The official V&A print website containing many images of art and objects from the museum's collections
• Victoria and Albert Museum at the Survey of London online:
  • Architectural history (to 1975) and description
  • Plans

v • d • e Museums and Galleries in London

Barbican Art Gallery · British Museum · Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms · Design Museum · Dulwich Picture Gallery · Estorick Collection · Foundling Museum · Freud Museum · Geffrye Museum · Guildhall Art Gallery · Handel House Museum · Hayward Gallery · HMS Belfast · Hogarth's House · Horniman Museum · Imperial War Museum · Institute of Contemporary Arts · London's Transport Museum · Museum in Docklands · Museum of London · National Gallery · National Maritime Museum · National Portrait Gallery · Natural History Museum · Petrie Museum · Queen's Gallery · Royal Collection · Royal Academy of Arts · Saatchi Gallery · Science Museum · Serpentine Gallery · Sir John Soane's Museum · Somerset House – Courtauld Gallery, Gilbert Collection, Hermitage Rooms · Sutton House · Tate Britain · Tate Modern · Victoria and Albert Museum · V&A Museum of Childhood · Wallace Collection · Whitechapel Art Gallery

Coordinates: 51°29′48″N, 0°10′19″W