V&A, SILVER AND STAINED GLASS GALLERY

SACRED SILVER AND STAINED GLASS GALLERY

LONDON, UK

2006

This gallery displays the silver articles used over the centuries by the various Christian creeds. Utensils, reliquaries for the remains of saints, crosses for processions, plates for offerings all become a key to understanding the complex history of the Christian church and the faith of its members.

Also referable to a sacred context, the stained glass displayed in the gallery shows the art of the glassmakers from the 12^th century onwards. Many of the oldest panels are fragments of larger compositions removed from their original location by restorers, or recovered when the buildings themselves were demolished.