Engraved Ornament project

Elizabeth Taylor - Jewellery and Ornament

You may have noticed some of the press recently making the rounds for the sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewels (among other parts of her collection).   Looking at the lots on offer one wonders how such a petite woman ever managed to move around so enormous are the carat weights of some of the stones. One of  my favourite galleries at the V&A is the William and...
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Ring Spiral Display

What is ornament, what is an ornament print and why do they matter?

Ornament is decoration or embellishment. It is any additional detail added to an object, interior or architectural structure which serves no other purpose than to make it more interesting, arresting or beautiful to us. Take this Sèvres soup plate for instance. The richly painted and gilded decoration adds absolutely nothing to the function of the plate, but the effect is certainly more...
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Early entry from the museum’s accession register for a group of ornament prints

Sarah Grant is Curator of Engraved Ornament at the V&A.