Victoria and Albert Museum

View from the John Madejski Garden

A few weeks ago, a friend and I went into London to have a nose around the Victoria & Albert Museum. Entry is free, and it's really easy to get to because it has its own exit from one of the tube stations!

There's so much to see that it would be impossible to sum it all up in one post (or even to properly take it all in during one visit!) but here are a few highlights...

Trajan's Column

This was my second visit to the V&A, the first being several years ago now, when half the sections I'd hoped to see were closed to visitors!
This time around, I had a little more luck--the only thing I couldn't get close to was Trajan's column, which was recommended to me (the gallery is underground renovation/conservation). But I did manage to get this snap of it through one of the windows that looks out onto the gallery. It was interesting to see the varying stages of work going on in there!

Rachael Kneebone, 399 Days

Though it wasn't exactly the same as seeing Trajan's Column, I did spot this contemporary piece standing proud amongst the traditional. Having admired Rachael Kneebone's work at Brighton Festival a few years ago, I immediately recognised the style in this piece, 399 Days. This wasn't something I expected to see at the V&A!

Tipu's Tiger

Despite the huge number of rooms and exhibits (and the huge number of visitors!) at the museum, we still managed to see quite a lot, including some pieces I'd previously only heard of or seen in pictures, such as Tipu's Tiger, a wooden automaton made to near-life size proportions for an eighteenth century Indian sultan.

Evening coat by Elsa Schiaparelli, 1939

We took a (brief) look around the fashion section, which was closed last time I was there. It was only a brief look because the area was so busy, which was a little disappointing. But it was nice to finally see it anyway!

Section of ceiling on the ceramic staircase

There are so many features of the museum, it's really impossible to write about them all in great depth. There are exhibits that feature jewellery, miniatures, silverware, theatre, contemporary design, classical sculpture/architecture, Japan, China, Korea, and so much more.
I won't even try to squeeze everything into this post, but I'll finish with this photo of one of the ceilings. As we were walking around, my friend (a frequent visitor of the V&A) advised me to 'look up'. I wasn't disappointed (and possibly ended up looking at the ceilings as much as I did the exhibition cabinets!)