Metalwork

Metalwork permeates every aspect of our lives, from the kitchen utensils we use daily, the railings and lamp posts that line our streets, the components in our phones, to the heirlooms we cherish for life. The V&A holds one of the world's largest and most varied collections of Metalwork with around 45,000 objects from the Bronze Age to the present day. Additionally, the Gilbert Collection of gold, silver and micromosaics on loan to the V&A shows spectacular items including Frederick the Great's diamond-encrusted snuffbox.

You can see metalwork on display right across the museum. The story of metalwork is one of scientific discovery, industrial invention and artistic innovation. Highlights include a decorated box given by Elizabeth I to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester around 1575, a ship-form drinking vessel which possibly rolled from guest to guest at the dining table, and an enamelled wall light from 1899 in the form of a flamboyant peacock. Miriam Hanid's watery silver centrepiece highlights our growing collection of metalwork by modern makers.

Search “Metalwork” in Explore the Collections

Features

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An A–Z of metalwork

Discover some of the quirky, ingenious, dangerous and dramatic objects in the Metalwork collection in this A–Z

  1. Watch

    Pushing silver to its limits – Ndidi Ekubia

    Watch contemporary silversmith, Ndidi Ekubia, as she manipulates and pushes silver to its limits
  2. Watch

    The antimonial cup – a doctor's 'cure' designed to make you sick

    Senior Metalwork Curator reveals a mysterious and highly toxic object from not one, but two unusual boxes.
  3. Interact

    Biscuit tins – a bite-sized history

    Novelty biscuit tins in all shapes and sizes
  4. Watch

    Unlocking a 17th-century strongbox: ASMR

    Peek into the past as we look inside a historic strongbox
  5. Read

    Archibald Knox, Liberty and the Celtic Revival style

    Discover a master of metalwork
  6. Watch

    Dressed to kill – fashion and armour

    Discover what the fashion-conscious Renaissance man would have worn on the battlefield or for jousting
  7. Watch

    How was it made? Electrotype

    Discover how a metal copy of an object is created
  8. Watch

    How was it made? Silver watch case

    See how an 18th-century watch case is made
  9. Watch

    Conservation of the Poynter Room grill

    See the magnificence of the metalwork return
  10. Watch

    How was it made? Guilloché enamelling

    Watch precise geometric patterns appear on metalwork in this centuries-old process
  11. Interact

    Serving up: silver slices

    Contemporary silversmiths respond to a unique, creative brief to redesign the humble fish slice.
  12. Watch

    How was it made? 3D scanning and printing

    See how 3D scanning and printing techniques are used to reproduce an object from our collection
  13. Watch

    Laying a wacky and whimsical Christmas table

    How wacky is your Christmas table? Discover some of our favourite festive fare, with a twist
  14. Read

    A history of jewellery

    Explore jewellery techniques and designs from the bronze age to the modern day illustrated with key pieces from our jewellery collection
  15. Read

    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
  16. Read

    The gold ewer

    Read about the restitution of a 4,250-year-old Anatolian gold ewer
  17. Read

    Teapots through time

    Discover some of the finest examples of teapots produced over the last five centuries
  18. Watch

    How was it made? Champlevé enamelling

    See how this medieval technique was carried out
  19. Watch

    Deconstructing samurai armour: ASMR

    Removing the helmet and untying intricate knots – watch as the 18th century piece is dismantled
  20. Watch

    Dressing a 17th-century dolls' house: ASMR

    Step inside a tiny dolls' house
  21. Watch

    How to pack a fragile and toxic object: ASMR


    How to you carefully pack something so precious?
  22. Watch

    Shipwrecked treasure and ancient jewellery

    Mudlarked, shipwrecked, buried treasure – discover treasures lost and found

Collection highlights

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  1. pectoral cross
    The Real Thing, pectoral cross, by David Poston, 2004, Suffolk, England
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  2. reliquary
    Reliquary, head of Saint Januarius, about 1500 – 50, Switzerland or Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  3. shaffron
    Shaffron for a large horse, about 1525, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  4. necessaire
    Necessaire (watch), by James Cox, about 1770, London
    V&A South Kensington
    Not on display
  5. crosier
    Crosier, 1200 – 1300, Limoges, France
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  6. sconce in the design of a peacock
    The Peacock Sconce, by Alexander Fisher, about 1899, England
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  7. union Centrepiece
    Union Centrepiece, by Miriam Hanid, 2013, England
    V&A East Storehouse
    Not on display
  8. nef
    Nef, by Esaias zur Linden, 1609 – 29, Nuremberg, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  9. gondola prow
    Gondola prow, 1600 – 1700, Venice, Italy
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  10. meat slicer
    'Streamliner', meat slicer, designed by Egmont Arens and Theodore C. Brookhart in 1940, manufactured by Hobart manufacturing Co from 1944, USA
    V&A South Kensington
    View by appointment
  11. paper bag (Sugar)
    Paper bag (Sugar), by David Bielander, 2017, Munich, Germany
    Young V&A
    On display
  12. armet
    Armet, 1520 – 1540, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  13. hanukkah Lamp
    Hanukkah lamp, by Eli Gera, 1970 – 80, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
    V&A East Storehouse
    Not on display
  14. spoon
    Spoon, about 1550 – 75, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  15. chair
    Armchair, made by Russian Imperial Arms Factory, about 1750, Tula, Russia
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  16. chandelier
    Chandelier, 1480 – 1520, German or Flemish
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  17. flask
    Flask, about 1550, Nuremberg, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  18. candlestick
    Candlestick, probably made by Anthony Hatch and Stephen Pilcherd, about 1650 – 80, London
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  19. brewer's sign
    Brewer's sign, 1700 – 1800, Germany
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  20. teapot
    Teapot, designed by Christopher Dresser, made by James Dixon and Sons, about 1879, Sheffield, England
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  21. rattle
    Rattle, about 1750, Britain
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  22. teapot
    TP49, teapot, by Robert Foster, 2004, Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  23. pendant
    Pendant, probably designed by René Jules Lalique, about 1899, France
    V&A South Kensington
    On display
  24. box
    The Dudley Box, 1579, England
    V&A South Kensington
    On display

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Header image:
'Streamliner', meat slicer, designed by Egmont Arens and Theodore C. Brookhart in 1940, manufactured by Hobart manufacturing Co from 1944, USA. Museum no. M.222-2011. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London