Victoria and Albert Museum, London
In 1852, during the Industrial Revolution, the centre of London saw the opening of a new a museum of art and design. It was to be a celebration of British manufacturing, housing the decorative art objects up to then displayed in Crystal Palace. The collection grew too large for its original home, and Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of a new building in 1899, which opened in 1909 and was named the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The V&A galleries offer visitors collections spanning two thousand years of art of all civilisations in virtually every medium. Exhibits include gold and other types of jewellery, fashion, furniture and ceramics. Europe, Asia and the Near East are particularly well represented.