Metalwork
Features
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Pushing silver to its limits – Ndidi EkubiaWatch contemporary silversmith, Ndidi Ekubia, as she manipulates and pushes silver to its limits
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The antimonial cup – a doctor's 'cure' designed to make you sickSenior Metalwork Curator reveals a mysterious and highly toxic object from not one, but two unusual boxes.
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Biscuit tins – a bite-sized historyNovelty biscuit tins in all shapes and sizes
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Unlocking a 17th-century strongbox: ASMR
Peek into the past as we look inside a historic strongbox
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Archibald Knox, Liberty and the Celtic Revival style
Discover a master of metalwork
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Dressed to kill – fashion and armour
Discover what the fashion-conscious Renaissance man would have worn on the battlefield or for jousting
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How was it made? Electrotype
Discover how a metal copy of an object is created
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How was it made? Silver watch case
See how an 18th-century watch case is made
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Conservation of the Poynter Room grill
See the magnificence of the metalwork return
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How was it made? Guilloché enamelling
Watch precise geometric patterns appear on metalwork in this centuries-old process
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Serving up: silver slicesContemporary silversmiths respond to a unique, creative brief to redesign the humble fish slice.
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How was it made? 3D scanning and printing
See how 3D scanning and printing techniques are used to reproduce an object from our collection
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Laying a wacky and whimsical Christmas table
How wacky is your Christmas table? Discover some of our favourite festive fare, with a twist
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A history of jewelleryJewellery techniques and designs, illustrated with key pieces from our collection
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Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert and their collection
Meant ‘for everyone’, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection comprises gold and silver, enamel miniatures, gold boxes and mosaics
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The gold ewer
Read about the restitution of a 4,250-year-old Anatolian gold ewer
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Teapot design through timeDiscover some of the finest examples of teapots produced over the last five centuries
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How was it made? Champlevé enamelling
See how this medieval technique was carried out
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Deconstructing samurai armour: ASMR
Removing the helmet and untying intricate knots – watch as the 18th century piece is dismantled
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Dressing a 17th-century dolls' house: ASMR
Step inside a tiny dolls' house
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How to pack a fragile and toxic object: ASMR
How to you carefully pack something so precious?
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Shipwrecked treasure and ancient jewelleryMudlarked, shipwrecked, buried treasure – discover treasures lost and found
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Unity: a collaboration between artist goldsmith Emefa Cole and the Asante royal goldsmithExplore 'Unity', a V&A commisioned sculpture which celebrates a new relationship between the V&A and the Royal Palace in Kumasi
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A history of Asante gold at the V&ADiscover the history of the Asante gold at the V&A that was among several hundred pieces looted by British troops during the Anglo-Asante Wars in 1874
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A guide to metalworking techniquesDiscover some of the techniques used to make the metalwork objects in the V&A’s collections
Collection highlights
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The Real Thing, pectoral cross, by David Poston, 2004, Suffolk, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Reliquary, head of Saint Januarius, about 1500 – 50, Switzerland or GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Shaffron for a large horse, about 1525, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Necessaire (watch), by James Cox, about 1770, LondonV&A South Kensington -
Crosier, 1200 – 1300, Limoges, FranceV&A South Kensington -
The Peacock Sconce, by Alexander Fisher, about 1899, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Union Centrepiece, by Miriam Hanid, 2013, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Nef, by Esaias zur Linden, 1609 – 29, Nuremberg, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Gondola prow, 1600 – 1700, Venice, ItalyV&A South Kensington -
'Streamliner', meat slicer, designed by Egmont Arens and Theodore C. Brookhart in 1940, manufactured by Hobart manufacturing Co from 1944, USAV&A South Kensington -
Paper bag (Sugar), by David Bielander, 2017, Munich, GermanyYoung V&A -
Armet, 1520 – 1540, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Hanukkah lamp, by Eli Gera, 1970 – 80, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, IsraelV&A East Storehouse -
Spoon, about 1550 – 75, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Armchair, made by Russian Imperial Arms Factory, about 1750, Tula, RussiaV&A South Kensington -
Chandelier, 1480 – 1520, German or FlemishV&A South Kensington -
Flask, about 1550, Nuremberg, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Candlestick, probably made by Anthony Hatch and Stephen Pilcherd, about 1650 – 80, LondonV&A South Kensington -
Brewer's sign, 1700 – 1800, GermanyV&A South Kensington -
Teapot, designed by Christopher Dresser, made by James Dixon and Sons, about 1879, Sheffield, EnglandV&A South Kensington -
Rattle, about 1750, BritainV&A South Kensington -
TP49, teapot, by Robert Foster, 2004, Queanbeyan, New South Wales, AustraliaV&A South Kensington -
Pendant, probably designed by René Jules Lalique, about 1899, FranceV&A South Kensington -
The Dudley Box, 1579, EnglandV&A South Kensington
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