Tag: v&a museum

Postcard from London, England: Journeying inside the V&A

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Above: Reflections in the viewing mirror installed above the Ardabil carpet, a commission for the ruling Shah of Iran made by Maqsud Kashani about 1540

One of the most popular spots in the Victoria and Albert Museum is the long sofa next to the ancient Ardabil carpet. While the rug’s design is exquisitely executed with about 3,500 wool knots per square inch, for many, the bench is the main attraction. Ah, the chance to reflect and rest. We were fortunate to have the time to visit more than once during our stay.

It’s easy to be bowled over by the swirling, shimmering colors of Dale Chihuly’s immense contemporary glass chandelier suspended under the graceful dome of the grand entrance hall to the museum. The sheer size of the 1862 iron choir screen from the Hereford Cathedral addressing the space competes for your attention.

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Postcard from London, England: Globe-spanning collection ignites imagination

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Above: “Tippoo’s Tiger,” Tipu Sultan’s automaton seized from Seringapatam, Mysore, South India, by the East India Company in 1799, eventually ending up displayed in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

It’s a giant mechanical tiger… and I just was so enchanted by it. Because I’d seen British propaganda – you know, cartoons and ethnographic representations of Indians – but I’d never seen Indian art depicting the colonizer or the English…. I think Tipu Sultan, who commissioned it… was so contemptuous of the British and so determined to drive them out of India…. This was a gift to his sons, who had been taken hostage by the British.”

Tania James, author of the novel Loot, interviewed in 2023 by Ari Shapiro for All Things Considered on NPR

By chance, I had recently read Tania James’ Loot when we visited Victoria & Albert Museum last year. Spying the 18th-century automaton tiger one grasps how it sent the author’s imagination flying back into history to investigate the tiger’s origins. The soldier-mauling tiger serves as a mighty symbol of conquered nations’ contempt for their colonizers.

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