On Friday 26th October members of the Cambridge Society were treated to a tour of the superb Medieval and Renaissance galleries at the Victoria and Albert museum, led by Blue Badge Guide Caroline Piper. The V&A kindly gave us private access to the galleries so we were able to soak up every detail. We explored over 1100 years of design evolution in the decorative arts and architecture from the 5th to 16th centuries. Highlights included the exquisite gold Gloucester candlestick with its tiny detailed decoration of monsters and creatures crawling up the column of the candlestick to the light at the top and the beautiful carved ivory book cover of the Lorsch Gospels, made in Charlemagne’s cathedral school and showing scenes of the nativity. In pure size the Devonshire Hunting Tapestry is hard to beat with its depiction of knights and elegant ladies taking part in a bear and boar hunt in 15th century Burgundy.
From these medieval luxuries we moved to 15th and 16th century Renaissance Italy with delicate subtle relief carving by Donatello, the tiny notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci and the recreated study of Pierro de Medici, a tiny intimate space decorated with beautiful maiolica roundels in the ceiling. Almost as enjoyable were the stories of how some items came to be rescued and join the museum collection, including a bronze roundel of the Madonna by Donatello that had been used as an ash tray and the angels from Cardinal Wolsey’s planned, but never erected, funerary monument that were rediscovered on the gateposts of a golf club!
Post-tour we adjourned to the luxurious Gamble room, designed by the museum’s own team of artists in mustard, gold and cream with Minton wall tiles as part of the world’s first museum restaurant, for a well deserved glass of wine!
Organised by Caroline Piper