The Victoria and Albert Museum, located in London's South Kensington neighbourhood, is the world's largest museum of fine art and decorative arts. Kensington is the world's largest museum of fine and decorative arts and crafts. Its collection contains objects from a variety of eras and cultures, ranging from from early Christian relics and mysterious cult objects from South East Asia to turn-of-the-century examples of furniture design, totalling more than 4.5 million exhibits.
The museum was officially opened by Queen Victoria on 22 June 1857. Originally it was a museum of industry and applied arts, the museum's management considered Museum's primary objective to enhance the education of the public and the practical usefulness of the of the collections, thus contrasting itself with the "high art" of the National Gallery and the theoretical science of the British Museum. In 1893 the Museum of Science Museum, to which the scientific collections were transferred. The museum received its present name was given its present name on 17 May 1899, when the Queen made her last public appearance at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new museum building. On that day, the 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 works closely with comprehensive schools and Art schools, and the museum has special programmes for children. Much attention is paid to scientific work and restoration.
There are four sections in the museum: "Asia"; "Furniture, fabrics and fashion"; "Sculpture, Metal, Ceramics and Glass"; and "Word and Image."
The Asian Art section has more than 160,000 exhibits and is one of the largest such collections in the world. There is a magnificent collection of oriental carpets, including the Ardabil carpet, the largest (11x5 metres) surviving handmade oriental carpets, a collection of Chinese Chinese porcelain vases, a bronze Buddha head, a 10th century crystal jug and much more.
The clothing collection is the largest in Britain, representing mainly ceremonial costumes, from the Middle Ages to the present day. It is beautifully complemented by a collection of jewellery.
The Furniture Collection showcases examples of furniture art from around the world and includes not only complete room furnishings 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, watercolours, sketches, etc., including paintings by Raphael, Constable, Turner, Gainsborough, Botticelli, Rembrandt and others. Also on display are photographs, books, sculptures and a huge collection of arts and crafts from various eras and countries.
