Musical Instruments, Room 40a

Level: 3

The Musical Instruments gallery is open one day per month, on the first Wednesday, during normal museum opening hours.

Should you require access other than on the monthly open day, please ask at the information desks, if we have staff available we will happily escort you into the gallery.

There are also extensive musical instrument collections on view at the Horniman Museum and at the Royal College of Music.

Musical instruments have been collected by the V&A primarily for their design and decoration, rather than for their musical qualities. Famous makers are represented, for example Antonio Stradivari the violin maker. The simple beauty of his violin dated 1699 requires no decoration or embellishment. Many other instruments here are painted, carved and inlaid, and one virginal is even encrusted with coloured glass.