When I go to the V&A I mainly like to look around the sculpture rooms.  This time I didn’t have a map and I entered from a not-the-main-entrance, so I’m lucky I found the sculpture rooms.

The above pieces are plaster models that were used to create Bronze sculptures for St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Just scroll up again and look at the hold Truth has on Falsehood’s wicked tongue.

I especially love marble sculptures, and I have to wonder how people were able to make such amazing things (I’d have made so many mistakes).  Just look at the detail on Pandora’s Box (and Pandora’s hand and Pandora’s robes):

This time I also went into the Special Gallery, which was about art made out of unusual items (or everyday items: I can’t really remember which phrasing was used).  There were no photos allowed, but there was an amazing dress made out of pins that must have been extremely heavy.  I also remember seeing the carvings made from pencil graphite that have been making the rounds online.

I did, however, get a picture of the gorilla made out of clothes hangers that was at the entrance to the exhibit:

From there I went to the Japanese Arms and Armour section, where I got to look at some of my favorite things – Swords!

They also have a collection of tsuba (or sword guard).  I remember doing a paper years ago about the Muromachi Period in Japan and including way more information than was necessary about the art of the tsuba.

I would have liked to go to other areas of the museum, but I had a busy day ahead of me (which included dinosaur bones!).  It was time to bid farewell to that cool glass sculpture in the main lobby:

Up next – the Natural History Museum!