Victoria And Albert Museum: The Conclusion

As students of this blog well know, our several visits to the V&A this summer have been frustrated by unannounced closures of some of the most important sections, e.g., furniture and British history. After finishing the National Gallery, we were feeling lucky, and so hopped a bus to give the V&A another shot. The initial report at the information desk was disappointing. But, pressing on, on our (Vicki's) own initiative, we discovered that the British history section was indeed open--its guards/attendants wondering why there were no visitors that day. Someone didn't get a memo. Anyhow, we spent the rest of our touring day doing British history--social history, furnishings, household items, miscellany, etc.--and feeling much better about our V&A experiences.

Walking past one of the older bits of the V&A; like all the others,
it has grown over the decades since it was founded in the mid-19th

Not how your average British family decorated in the 18th century

Nor slept

Childrens' tea set; but see below

As I always suspected

Tea stuff; the Ashmolean has an entire large room
with nothing but tea stuff; one of the fascinating
things about London, to me, is that you practically
have to go to a museum or a special "high tea"
shoppe, only in the fancier neighborhoods, to
see anyone drinking tea: Costa, Starbucks, Cafe
Nero, Pret a Manger, Gregg's, Caffe Concerto...
have taken over completely, are on every block,
sometimes side-by-side [Vicki, who does not
drink coffee, disagrees with this assessment...]

Hallelujah! Roubiliac's statue of Handel!

18th century ceramic stuff

Wine fountain, cooler, cistern

Longleat before it was taken over by the Safari Park (UK's #1
Safari Park!)

There was fittingly an entire corner hall devoted
to British humor--it deserves a whole museum--
but the audio devices were switched off (COVID) 
and so it wasn't all that funny; Noel Coward's
satirical song above was banned by the BBC
after complaints from those who have no sense
of irony nor satire: he was attacking "humanitarians"
and pacifists, early in the war

Further proof that I always take pix of the same
things, from the same angles: the twin of Pepys'
bookcase at Dyrham Park House

Inlaid-paneled room

Beer-drinkers' corner

Early 18th century tapestry from the Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory;
you could order matching furniture upholstery too, if desired; life
was good, for the .0001%

French table top game about love; we'll have Penelope translate,

perhaps when she's older (I don't think Duolingo covers this area)

Exquisitely carved ivory by Simon Troger, 1741

The Judgement of Solomon

Table fountain, 1745; too large for our RV

Not sure the circular design is OK accoustically

Really fancy hurdy-gurdy; originally the hurdy-

gurdy was a beggar/busker's instrument; by the

18th, rich folks liked to dress up and play "rustic"

but their hurdy-gurdys had to be elegantly designed

More music: I wonder how many virginals the V&A owns

And a flight of silver ends our day, and campaign,
at the V&A