Since we took the Underground, we entered the museum through a back door and decided to start our tour of the museum from the top and work our way down. We took the elevator up to the top exhibit floor, and when the doors opened, I was in exhibit heaven. The top floor is devoted to the decorative arts and the way the furniture and ceramics are displayed is just amazing. The furniture gallery is open and light. Many of the pieces are not caged behind glass barriers, so the visitor feels even closer to many of the objects. The room's open flow is almost reminiscent of the original environment these objects would have been in, private residences, which adds to the visitor's experience of these objects.
On the sides of the gallery are specialized displays, dedicated to either a furniture maker/designer or a specific type of technique. Many of these alcoves are equipped with a computer screen and handset, which allows visitors to get further descriptions of the items featured and/or the maker or technique displayed. There is an alarm system to protect the objects from having museum patrons get too close, which went off quite a few times when we were in the gallery. But, for me, the overall design of the gallery outweighed the few noise interruptions.
From the furniture gallery, we continued into the ceramics halls. There was room after room of open ceramic storage. I had never seen so many ceramic pieces in one place. The shear volume is overwhelming. On top of everything, the blue and white section was enormous. It is my favorite type of ceramic (yes, archaeologists have favorite ceramic types), so I just had to take a picture.
From the open storage, we moved into an exhibit explaining how ceramics are produced and the different techniques used in both production and decoration. I absolutely loved how the display worked, especially the pile of beautiful Willow Ware wasters.
There was even a display on how transferprinted ceramics were made. Again, the archaeologist in me absolutely loved the idea, since I have tried to describe it to many people over the years. And leave it to the V&A to make it pretty too.
We then moved on to the other galleries, including this architecture gallery which centered around models of some of the world's most famous buildings, from green apartment buildings to temples.
About 2/3 of the way through our visit, w finally found the main entrance and the Rotunda. There was even a Chihuly there to help guide lost Americans (Chihuly pieces always seem to be in entrance halls).
We explored the history of fashion and I have to admit that I regret only taking one picture. But you gotta love a pink gown! I think one of the best aspects of this exhibit for me was that the proper undergarments for the time period were included along side the more traditional clothing displays. It was great to see the history of underwear over time.
After spending hours at the V&A, running through different time periods, localities, and mediums, we decided that it was time to refuel. So of course, after spending our morning immersing ourselves in the height of Victorian material culture, we continued with the theme of the day and headed to Fortnum and Mason. I have to admit something here: I am addicted to tea. Good tea. So this was such a fun part of the day for me.
The perfect ending to a very indulgent museum day! Tea, prosecco, and ice cream tea cakes (unfortunately not pictured) in The Parlour, which I highly recommend.
Overall, I loved the V&A. I wish I had been able to spend more time exploring the vast multitude of galleries and hallways, but I'm sure I will be back. And maybe next time I'll even go in the front entrance :)
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