Victoria and Albert Museum

This was one of my favorite museums in London.  If first opened in 1857 and boast that it contains the world's widest collections of fine and applied arts.  The exhibits range from early Christian devotional object to Doc Marten boots, from paintings of Jon Constable to the mystical art of Southeast Asia.  The museum also houses collections of sculptures, watercolors, jewelry and musical instruments.  There a 7 miles of galleries stretching across 4 floors.

Pictured below is the courtyard.  I was in such a hurry to get to the next stop, I didn't photograph the museum's entrance.

I was greatly impressed by the display of Margaret Laton's jacket.   It's the first time I've seen this done for such an old piece.  The blouse on display is the actual blouse worn by the woman in the painting.  (Click the photo to take a closer look.)

This artful piece is an antique variation of the piano.

The Whiteley Galleries were amazing.  I couldn't capture it in a single photo.   The hall stretched for hundreds of feet with nothing but gold and silver artifacts.  The entire hall just sparkled.

The last supper has been recreated many times in art.  This was from an exhibit of stained glass.  It was another beautiful room to visit and also part of the Whiteley Galleries.

The columns and sculptures in this room were antiques, but not originals.  Throughout history, Many Kings, Queens and other people of power and wealth hired artist to recreate art for them.  This was an excellent display of such work.

Another room filled with ancient replicas.

Obviously, this is a replica of the statue of David.  It was made from plaster  in a much smaller scale.   However, it was interesting to see the back side of the stand that had a fig leaf on display.  It said it was used to cover the statue when the Queen or other royal ladies would visit.

Another fine sculpture.

A display from the ironwork exhibit.