Tippoo's Tiger
Made for Tipu Sultan of Mysore, this wooden tiger contains an organ. Turning a handle moves the fallen man's arm while the mechanism produces sounds.
Read the museum recordYour AI tour guide for the Victoria and Albert Museum
Photograph a work in the Victoria and Albert Museum and Lensmark tells you who made it, when, and why it matters, with every fact linked to its source.
Your tour guide, today
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
Lensmark is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Victoria and Albert Museum.
PrivacyTake a photo and read the work's sourced story
Illustrative photo demo
Illustrative photo demo
Illustrative collection
- Take a permitted photo Use a photo allowed by the museum's current rules.
- Read the sourced history When Lensmark can verify the work, it explains what the sources support and links to them. When it cannot, it says so plainly.
- Ask a follow-up Continue with a question about the work's maker, age or significance.
- Your Victoria and Albert Museum walk saves itself. Just take pictures. Each work is kept with its sourced history, grouped by day.
The illustrative demo shows Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam in Vatican City. The demo and collection images illustrate Lensmark and are not Victoria and Albert Museum collection works.
What the Victoria and Albert Museum collection covers
The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington brings together art and design across many materials and traditions. This London venue is distinct from Young V&A, V&A Dundee and V&A East. About the V&A
A mechanical tiger, a woven carpet and a tapestry cartoon offer three different ways to look at how objects were made. The museum's records connect these objects with their materials, makers and histories. The museum holds Raphael's cartoon on royal loan.
Its collection strengths include decorative arts and design, fashion and textiles, sculpture and works on paper, photography, and Asian and Islamic art.
-
-
The Ardabil Carpet
This wool-pile carpet has a silk foundation and a large central medallion. An inscription records its completion in 946 in the Muslim calendar, equivalent to 1539-1540.
Read the museum record -
The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
Raphael designed this cartoon for a tapestry commissioned by Pope Leo X. It shows Christ directing Peter to a miraculous catch of fish. The cartoon is a royal loan to the V&A.
Read the museum record
These are collection records, not confirmation that the works are on display today.
Check the photography rules first
Handheld cameras and phones are allowed for personal, private, noncommercial photography and filming, subject to local restrictions. No tripods, monopods, gimbals, selfie sticks, drones, flashes, reflectors, modelling lights, easels, camera stands or external microphones are allowed. Professional portraits and other people-focused shoots are prohibited in public museum spaces. Contact the museum about commercial use, including broadcasts and streaming. Respect privacy, avoid disturbing others or touching objects, photograph only your own children, and credit the rights holder of copyrighted works. Read the current Victoria and Albert Museum photography policy and visitor guidance, and follow gallery signs and staff instructions.
Lensmark needs a connection to answer, so check your signal or any visitor Wi-Fi before you photograph a work.