Description of the attraction
The Victoria and Albert Museum, located in London's South Kensington area, is the world's largest museum of fine and decorative arts. His collection contains objects of different eras and cultures - from early Christian relics and mysterious religious objects from Southeast Asia to furniture design samples of the turn of the century, a total of more than 4.5 million exhibits.
The museum was officially opened by Queen Victoria on June 22, 1857. Initially it was a museum of industry and applied arts, the museum management considered the main task of the museum to increase the level of education of the public and the practical use of the collections, thus opposing themselves to the "high art" of the National Gallery and the theoretical science of the British Museum. In 1893, the Science Museum was formed, where scientific collections were transferred. The museum received its current name on May 17, 1899, when Queen Victoria appeared in public for the last time at the ceremonial laying of the new museum building. On this day, a new name was also announced - the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The two main activities of the museum today are education and research and conservation. The museum closely cooperates with secondary schools and art educational institutions; there are special programs for children in the museum. Much attention is paid to scientific work and restoration.
The museum has four sections: "Asia"; "Furniture, Fabrics and Fashion"; "Sculpture, Metal, Ceramics and Glass"; and also "Word and Image".
The Asian art section has over 160,000 exhibits and is one of the largest collections of this kind in the world. There is a magnificent collection of oriental carpets, including the Ardabil carpet - the largest (11 x 5 meters) of the hand-made oriental carpets that have survived, a collection of Chinese porcelain vases, a bronze Buddha head, a 10th century crystal jug and much more.
The collection of clothing is the largest in Britain, representing mainly formal suits, from the Middle Ages to the present day. It is perfectly complemented by a collection of jewelry.
The collection of furniture showcases examples of furniture art from around the world and includes not only complete room decoration and individual pieces of furniture, but also clocks and musical instruments, including a Stradivarius violin from 1699.
The painting collection consists of several thousand canvases, watercolors, sketches, etc., including paintings by Raphael, Constable, Turner, Gainsborough, Botticelli, Rembrandt and others. The museum also displays photographs, books, sculptures and a huge collection of samples of decorative and applied art from different eras and countries.
