Not So Many Pix From the V&A And BM

We undertook several return visits to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum over the last week. We'd seen plenty of both in previous years, especially 2021 and 2022, and so I didn't take very many pix. There are always a few new things, however, and an old friend or two that warrant a retake...

In the Medieval Europe section of the V&A, the Langdale Rosary,
some 93 saints plus the other usual Christian deities, c. 1500; 
gold and inlaid enamel; rosaries were banned in England later that
century...

Triptych with scenes from the Apocalypse, Master Bertram, c. 1380,
German

St. Sebastian, designed by Hans Holbein the Elder,
1497; gold, silver, precious gems

Creep me out department: reliquary bust said to have
contained the head of St. Antigius of Brescius;
1500, gold, silver, the usual; St. Antigius dates from
the 9th century, back before the standardization of 
canonization...what happened to his head is unknown, 
at least by me

Among the most famous items at the V&A, the Edenhall
Goblet, luxury Syrian glass, c. 1350; acquired on a pilgrimage 

The Merode Cup, c. 1400; silver, inset enamel; very
rare

Girdle, c. 1450; a chastity-within-marriage symbol,
it said; gold brocade, silver buckle

The Bear and Boar Hunt, from the Devonshire Tapestries, made in
Arras, France, 1430-1450; four extremely fine and large tapestries,
long in the Devonvshire family, acquired via the death taxes... 

Missal from the Abbey of St.-Denis, 1350

Moving right along, now in the great hall with the
Raphael cartoons for the Sistine Chapel (pictured
elsewhere on this blog, probably more than once), me
snapping a shot of the Altarpiece of St. George, from
Valencia, Spain, late 14th century

Acquired when the church it was in was demolished 

We also visited the fashion section, especially noting the Taylor Swift

outfits, previously posted

Moving even further along, now we are in the British Museum, 
early British collection, admiring this incredible gold cape, dating
from the early Bronze Age, c. 1600-1900BCE, found in Wales, 1833

Iron age slinkies

The Battersea Shield, found in the river near our
flat, La Tene era, pre-Roman Celtic, bronze

Love those Celtic golden torques

The Great Torque, c. 100BCE, said to be one of the most
intricate items of gold from the ancient world; more than
2 lbs in weight

Celtic baseball cap; Romans 27, Druids 0...

Love those Cycladic figures (Greek islands, very ancient)

Now, a real treat...the great reading room from the British Library is
open...first time in all our post-retirement visits to the BM

Rivals the Jefferson, the Richeliu...where Marx went to stay warm
and write Das Kapital

Kim and Vicki, retired librarians