The V&A Year of the Dealer trail
Online
How did objects come to be in the V&A collection? And what role have antiques dealers had to play in that process, and in shaping the collection? These questions lie at the heart of the Year of the Dealer project. Led by Mark Westgarth, Professor of History of the Art Market at the University of Leeds, and funded by AHRC, the project has sought to reveal lesser-known histories of museum objects as ‘antiques’, increasing understanding of the history of the antique trade in British cultural life and drawing renewed attention to the relationship between the art market and public museums. To tell some of these stories, the Year of the Dealer project has produced a series of 10 short films for each museum involved in the project.
Mosaics and Micro Mosaics: Art, Craft and Identities
Book
From the earliest mosaics in 4th-century BCE Greece and the Byzantine splendour of Hagia Sophia to the celebratory frieze encircling the Royal Albert Hall, and Eduardo Paolozzi's commission for the London Underground, this book by Alice Minter and Simona Valeriani reveals the technical and stylistic evolution of mosaic, and its prominence in political, public and civic spaces. This volume provides both a sweeping history of the craft and fascinating insight into key events. These include the competition judged by Titian, Tintoretto, Schiavone and Veronese in 16th-century Venice to choose a mosaicist for St Mark's Basilica and the prominence of mosaic in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.
Sculpture Journal, vol. 34, Issue 2: Reception and Replication of Donatello
Online
This second of two issues about Donatello addresses Donatello’s replication and reception in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Exploring Donatello’s legacy and inspiration, the authors examine how the sculptor was perceived, portrayed and collected in this period through a rich transatlantic network of museums, private collectors, art historians and agents, paying particular attention to the media in which Donatello’s work and character were disseminated.
Sculpture Journal, vol. 34, Issue 1: Donatello
Online
This special issue of Sculpture Journal is the first of two derived from a selection of papers presented at the international conference ‘Donatello: Workshops, Patronage, Revival’, held at the V&A in May 2023. Organized in conjunction with the V&A exhibition Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance (February–June 2023), the conference was conceived of and delivered by Peta Motture (Lead Curator), Whitney Kerr-Lewis (Co-Curator) and Sabrina Villani (Exhibition Research Assistant) in partnership with the V&A Research Institute.
Heritage | Special Issue: Lacquer in the Americas
Open access
This special issue brings the Indigenous American lacquer community together, building bridges and overcoming the existing geographical and language obstacles. With dual-language (English and Spanish) articles focusing on barniz de Pasto and mopa mopa, Mexican lacquer (or maque) and cumatê, this collection includes contributions covering a number of disciplines. This volume is a ‘go-to’ research resource encompassing scientific and historical reviews, case studies, articles focusing on sociological and anthropological perspectives, and on cross-cultural contact and exchanges between Asia, Europe and the ‘New World’.
The Royal Albert Hall
Book
Simona Valeriani’s book tells the fascinating story of how The Royal Albert Hall, one of the most iconic buildings of the Victorian era, came into being. Bringing material and archival evidence to life, it gives voice to its makers: from artisans and engineers to royalty and policy makers. The Royal Albert Hall reveals itself as a gateway to a new understanding of the political, artistic and scientific aspirations of a generation whose legacy still shapes today’s social and cultural landscape.
Postmedieval, vol. 15, Issue 4: Crafting Medieval Spain
Online
A selection of essays from the ‘Crafting Medieval Spain’ research project, spanning from articles on the V&A’s Torrijos Ceiling and its technical aspects to historic ceilings in context and in motion and the afterlife of wooden ceilings. The ‘Crafting Medieval Spain’ project is led by Mariam Rosser-Owen, V&A, and Anna McSweeney, Trinity College Dublin.
Nazi-Era Provenance of Museum Collections
Book
Jacques Schuhmacher’s research guide equips readers with the knowledge and strategies essential for confronting the shadow of the Nazi past in museum collections. The author provides the vital historical orientation required to understand the Nazis’ campaign of systematic dispossession and extermination, and highlights the environment in which museum-based Nazi-era provenance research takes place today.
Connecting Threads
Online
Connecting Threads is a collaborative digital history project dedicated to amplifying the contributions of Indian weavers and African Caribbean consumers to global histories of dress.
