Furniture Gallery

The V&A's new Furniture Gallery, which opened on December 1, 2012, provides a permanent home for the museum's furniture collection. Designed by NORD Architecture, the gallery tells the story of the production of furniture across six centuries. On display are more than 200 pieces of British and European furniture from the Middle Ages to the present day, as well as examples of American and Asian furniture. Included in the displays are chairs, stools, tables, bureaux, chests, cabinets, wardrobes, clocks, mirrors and screens by famous designers such as Thomas Chippendale, Grinling Gibbons, Robert Adam, Eileen Gray, Michael Thonet, Charles and Ray Eames, Ron Arad and Tom Dixon. Some of the objects have not been shown in public for more than 30 years. The ways in which furniture has been made and decorated is illustrated through an examination of materials and techniques ranging from joinery, moulding, upholstery and digital manufacture, to carving, marquetry, gilding and lacquer. A central, chronological display highlights 25 key pieces from the collection. There's also a newly-commissioned seating installation by contemporary designer Gitta Gschwendtner.