There's some exquisite objects in the V&A's Bejewelled Treasures exhibition but it does feel rather like a very slick PR exercise. I didn't come away any the wiser about Al Thani, who he was/is or how the collection came about but I googled when I got home and discovered the gossipy stuff that the V&A is too reverential to tell us. I do hope some of these lovely things get worn occasionally ... there were photos of the Spanish flamenco dancer who married a maharajah in 1908 - and her crescent-shaped emerald is in the exhibition - but I wondered if they ever get to a ball or a banquet today?
You didn't warn me about that photo of Dudley House...you need sunglasses!
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough, I never knew what it was called or its history, but I often used to pass that house when I was about 12 and visiting my granny. And I always thought I'd live there - or somewhere very similar - when I grew up. This seemed perfectly achievable if I got what I thought of as a 'good job.' I wonder what it would have cost back then? I didn't have a clue!
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