London: The Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum has been in this location since 1854

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a fascinating and massive collection of all kinds of stuff -- 2.27 million of them spanning 5,000 years -- dedicated to applied decorative art and design. It is a reference area for artists, designers, fashion designers and the general public to learn more about art and design from around the world.

It was founded in 1852 and originally called by the Museum's first director Henry Cole and it was known as the Museum of Manufactures. And then in 1854 it was moved to its current location and called South Kensington Museum. 

Coral tiara, brooches and earrings from the 19th century

Queen Victoria officially opened the museum in 1857 and it was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum. What made this museum particularly accessible to the working class was that gas lamps were introduced, so that the museum could be open later for these people to be able to enjoy it too.

We arrived just after 5pm and asked a museum staff member to point us to some must-see things there. She advised that the second floor would be closing at 5.30pm and that we would probably be interested in the jewellery section there, followed by the Raphael Cartoons.

So we followed her directions and went up the stairs to the jewellery section that happens to be near the National Art Library that has over 750,000 books, photographs, drawings, paintings and prints. It also has some of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, The Codex.

Meanwhile the jewellery section really hits the eyes, all these shiny stones in a dark room make them even more glittery. The entrance has a giant spiral of so many different coloured stones that they are totally mesmerizing to look at.

Taking a peek into the National Art Library before it closed

What's interesting here is that jewellery items are not placed in chronological order but coordinated with different countries and times to show contrast or similarities.

There were many royal jewellery items, including a section on coral from 1830 to 1920 that showed how it has been prized since the 19th century. While it was mostly sourced around the seas in Naples and nearby Torre del Greco, coral used in jewellery became popular because there was also a naturalistic theme that was all the rage in the 1850s. There was even a tiara made from coral that was so interesting to see, along with brooches and earrings.

Jewellery from top artisans like Bulgari and Cartier are shown here, and a highlight is Queen Victoria's sapphire and diamond coronet designed by her husband Prince Albert. He seems to have had a flair for design, particularly jewellery and his love of Victoria also helped fuel the passion to make her look beautiful.

The coronet features stones from previous pieces and it could be worn either on the crown of her head, or opened up and placed behind her head.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Raphael, about 1515

We like many others were told the jewellery section was closing so we moved down to the ground floor to the Raphael Cartoons. They are called cartoons from the Italian word "cartone", which means a large sheet of paper, or a preparatory design.

These were detailed paintings that were meant to be given to weavers to make tapestries that would be hung up on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel in the 1690s. These cartoons were made on several sheets of paper that were pasted together and then originally drawn with charcoal, then colour mixed with led-white, animal glue and water to make a gouache was applied onto the paper.

The weavers would take these cartoons and prick the contours with a needle to make a copy, and then cut vertically into sections of weavers to work on. Afterwards the strips were reassembled again and glued to a canvas backing for display. So it's actually quite amazing these cartoons still look in good condition.

Eve Tempted by the Serpent by William Blake

Canadian-born fashion designer known as Erdem, whose full name is Erdem Moraligu explains in a short video how he loves these Raphael Cartoons and was inspired to create his first collection around them and even showed the outfits in the room.

Other interesting items in the V&A include a painting by William Blake that I spotted, a beautiful keyboard where the outer case is covered in a floral pattern, and a completely intact series of blue and white tiles from Turkey in the 1600s.

There is a Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation wing that is dedicated to Buddhist items. It was opened in 2009 and marks the chronological and geographical development of Buddhist art. 

By this time it was getting late, but more people were coming into the museum because there was a DJ in the foyer playing dance music and some people actually dancing to the grooves. Apparently every Friday night it's like this and it made us wonder if the fragile art works weren't affected by the strong vibrations from the music...

Panel of 80 Tiles from Turkey, 1600-1700

But an interesting way to draw a younger audience in, even though we saw lots of students sketching items in the museum or looking up things in the library.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
+44 (0) 20 7942 2000
vam.ac.uk