LONDON: The V&A Museum

The V&A is known to be the leading museum of art and design. This place was named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert back in 1852, and they saw this as an effort to promote and educate everyone, regardless of race or class, about art and design through the museum collections. One can find artifacts here across all continents, from both the ancient times until the present day.


There is an element of art and design in each gallery you walk through. Whether it be patterns, prints, fashion, and the like, everything here points back to art no matter what form it's in.

Admission is free. Seriously, I'd love to live in a place where all these museums are accessible and well maintained.

The first thing you see as you enter is the V&A Rotunda chandelier made by Dale Chihuly. Glass sculpting is surely something fascinating for me. I think it's really amazing how they're able to create these kinds of sculptures in all shapes, colors, and sizes imaginable. 

 

 

Some of my favorites. Clockwise starting from the uppermost left side would be The Crouching Venus by John Nost the Elder (1702), Pandora by John Gibson (1860), Valour and Cowardice by Alfred Stevens (1866), and Samson and the Philistines by Vincenzo Foggini (1749).

The Age of Innocence by Alfred Drury (1897). This bust became an icon of the so-called New Sculpture movement in Britain. I think this was the only marble statue that actually had irises in her eyes, a hint of Naturalism. If you've been, and you saw another one, let me know! :-) 

When I entered this room I imagined myself wearing a big puffy ball gown and going round and round in circles around the room until I fell over and I couldn't help myself up because of my huge gown.

My own personal imagery aside though, this is the Norfolk House Music Room. This room has a French design, as seen by the intricate style found all around the walls and ceiling. You can easily imagine people waltzing around and doing some socializing while musicians play their music.

The Opening of the Great Exhibition by Queen Victoria on 1 May 1851

Celebrating the Industrial Revolution and the greatness of Britain. This was the opening ceremony together with the Archbishop of Canterbury who blessed the exhibition. Those present were the commissioners, ministers, and dignitaries.

This is the Theewes Claviorgan (1579). A Claviorgan is a cross between a harpsichord and an organ. This one is known to be the earliest surviving keyboard instrument in Britain. The detail involves: mythical musician Orpheus, sphinxes, monkeys, decorative jewels, pilasters and sprigs of flowers. One can see that the details painted on this instruments features the fashion of the time.

Another Claviorgan. Of humans and angels and other mythical creatures.

Tapestries, furniture, all with intricate designs, carved and painted.

I liked this armoire because when opened, there's actually more drawers inside. I also like how there's detailed carvings on the drawers, doors, and key hole.

Another thing of interest in the museum would be the the ceramics.

These tea sets, though. Looking at all these tea sets would make you think that drinking tea must've been something really special, but this was just everyday life for them. I just like the design; how much effort was placed in designing it so well. 

It's amazing to see these gowns in person. It's like all the clothing of the heroines of my favorite classic novels came to life. They have intricate designs as well, often inspired by nature.

Those shoes were called 'straights' before wherein there's no distinction between left or right. Wow! I'd love to have those. I'm always confused with my left or right, to be honest. I've struggled with this since childhood.

Fabrics used for clothing back then.

It's Bashaw, 'the faithful friend of man' . Actually, the full length name of this sculpture is Bashaw, 'The Faithful Friend of Man, Trampling Underfoot His Most Insidious Enemy' . This statue was in the middle of everything else, so of course I was intrigued. As can be seen, Bashaw is a Newfoundland dog and has trampled over a snake. Another thing to notice is how Bashaw looks so calm and it's as if he had no struggle with the snake. It's like he just happened to step on it..

Tippoo's Tiger was one of the last things I saw before closing time, and one of the highlights in the museum. Inside the tiger is an organ, and once it's played, the soldier's arm moves up and down as if in protest. This was found inside the Sultan Tipu's palace music room by the British East India Company during the Siege of Seringapatam in 1799. Sultan Tipu was known to be the "Tiger of Mysore".

I found it interesting because 1) of the organ instrument, so this must be pretty heavy, and 2) the hostility is real..


A bit of a sneak peek of the museum through this video I liked on Youtube about the museum. It's only 3 minutes, yet it covers the gist of what this place stands for.

---

What do you enjoy the most when visiting museums? Where and when was your last memorable museum visit? 

Follow