The Lives of the Objects: Collecting Design

(Hardback)

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Description

In this intriguing insight into the work and history of a museum, V&A director and historian Dr Tristram Hunt brings together ten renowned V&A curators to tell the stories behind ten of their most treasured objects. Tipus Tiger (an almost life-size wooden semiautomaton mauling a European soldier), the Great Bed of Ware (an Elizabethan bed for 8 people) and a Shakespeare First Folio are among the featured highlights whose route to the V&A collections are entertainingly revealed. Through these stories, this insightful history of museum curation a world of careful study and sometimes remarkable fortuity shows how the priorities of a museum are shaped and change over time.

Reviews

'...full of fascinating, if occasionally tragic and controversial, tales of acquisitions.' Ciara Dossett, Daily Mail, 6th February 2020

Author Bio

Tristram Hunt is the author of several books on British history, and is the Director of the V&A.