Context: There are several museums and galleries in Newcastle, including the Centre for Life with its Science Village; the Discovery Museum a museum highlighting life on Tyneside, including Tyneside's shipbuilding heritage, and inventions which changed the world; the Great North Museum; in 2009 the Newcastle on Tyne Museum of Antiquities merged with the Great North Museum (Hancock Museum); Seven Stories a museum dedicated to children's books, the Side Gallery historical and contemporary photography from around the world and Northern England and the Newburn Hall Motor Museum.

Question: Where is the Science Village located?

Question: What does the Discovery Museum draw attention to?

Question: What type of heritage does Tyneside have?

Question: What year saw the merger of two museums in Newcastle?

Question: What museum in Newcastle is dedicated to children's books?


Context: The earliest known movie featuring some exterior scenes filmed in the city is On the Night of the Fire (1939), though by and large the action is studio-bound. Later came The Clouded Yellow (1951) and Payroll (1961), both of which feature more extensive scenes filmed in the city. The 1971 film Get Carter was shot on location in and around Newcastle and offers an opportunity to see what Newcastle looked like in the 1960s and early 1970s. The city was also backdrop to another gangster film, the 1988 film noir thriller Stormy Monday, directed by Mike Figgis and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Melanie Griffith, Sting and Sean Bean.

Question: What is the earliest known movie featuring scenes filmed outdoors in Newcastle?

Question: What 1971 film was shot on location in Newcastle?

Question: What genre of film was the 1988 film Stormy Monday?

Question: Who directed Stormy Monday?

Question: What famous musician starred in Stormy Monday?


Context: Newcastle has a horse racing course at Gosforth Park. The city is also home to the Newcastle Eagles basketball team who play their home games at the new Sport Central complex at Northumbria University. The Eagles are the most successful team in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL). The city's speedway team Newcastle Diamonds are based at Brough Park in Byker, a venue that is also home to greyhound racing. Newcastle also hosts the start of the annual Great North Run, the world's largest half-marathon in which participants race over the Tyne Bridge into Gateshead and then towards the finish line 13.1 miles (21.1 km) away on the coast at South Shields. Another famous athletic event is the 5.9-mile (9.5 km) Blaydon Race (a road race from Newcastle to Blaydon), which has taken place on 9 June annually since 1981, to commemorate the celebrated Blaydon Races horse racing.

Question: Where is Newcastle's horse racing course located?

Question: What is the name of Newcastle's basketball team?

Question: What's the name of Newcastle's speedway team?

Question: Where can you see greyhound racing in Newcastle?

Question: What famous 5.9-mile athletic event takes place annually in Newcastle in June?


Context: Newcastle International Airport is located approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from the city centre on the northern outskirts of the city near Ponteland and is the larger of the two main airports serving the North East. It is connected to the city via the Metro Light Rail system and a journey into Newcastle city centre takes approximately 20 minutes. The airport handles over five million passengers per year, and is the tenth largest, and the fastest growing regional airport in the UK, expecting to reach 10 million passengers by 2016, and 15 million by 2030. As of 2007[update], over 90 destinations are available worldwide.

Question: How far is Newcastle's airport from the center of town?

Question: How is Newport's airport connected to the city?

Question: How long does it take to get to the middle of Newcastle from its outskirts when riding the rails?

Question: How many passengers per year does Newcastle's airport handle?

Question: How many destinations are available worldwide from Newcastle's airport?


Context: In 2014, work was completed on the stations historic entrance. Glazing was placed over the historic arches and the Victorian architecture was enhanced; transforming the 19th century public portico. The station is one of only six Grade One listed railway stations in the UK. Opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, it was the first covered railway station in the world and was much copied across the UK. It has a neoclassical façade, originally designed by the architect John Dobson, and was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson. The station sightlines towards the Castle Keep, whilst showcasing the curvature of the station’s arched roof. The first services were operated by the North Eastern Railway company. The city's other mainline station, Manors, is to the east of the city centre.

Question: What was enhanced in 2014?

Question: How many Grade One listed railway stations are in the UK?

Question: What Queen opened the first covered railway station in the world?

Question: Who constructed Newcastle's station?

Question: What mainline station is to the east of the city center?


Context: Train operator Virgin Trains East Coast provides a half-hourly frequency of trains to London King's Cross, with a journey time of about three hours, these services call at Durham, Darlington, York, Doncaster, Newark North Gate and Peterborough and north to Scotland with all trains calling at Edinburgh and a small number of trains extended to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. CrossCountry trains serve destinations in Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West. First TransPennine Express operates services to Manchester and Liverpool. Northern Rail provides local and regional services.

Question: How often do trains journey to King's Cross?

Question: How many hours can one expect to ride the train from Newcastle to King's Cross?

Question: Where do all trains going to Scotland stop at?

Question: Whose trains serve destinations in Yorkshire?

Question: Which train company provides local and regional services?


Context: The city is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, a system of suburban and underground railways covering much of Tyne and Wear. It was opened in five phases between 1980 and 1984, and was Britain's first urban light rail transit system; two extensions were opened in 1991 and 2002. It was developed from a combination of existing and newly built tracks and stations, with deep-level tunnels constructed through Newcastle city centre. A bridge was built across the Tyne, between Newcastle and Gateshead, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1981. The network is operated by DB Regio on behalf of Nexus and carries over 37 million passengers a year, extending as far as Newcastle Airport, Tynemouth, South Shields and South Hylton in Sunderland. In 2004, the company Marconi designed and constructed the mobile radio system to the underground Metro system. The Metro system was the first in the UK to have mobile phone antennae installed in the tunnels.

Question: What underground railways cover much of Tyne and Wear?

Question: How many phases was the Metro opened in between 1980 and 1984?

Question: What type of tunnels are constructed through Newcastle's city center?

Question: What did Queen Elizabeth II open in Newcastle in 1981?

Question: How many passengers a year does the rail network in Newcastle carry?


Context: The system is currently undergoing a period of refurbishment and modernization, entitled 'Metro: All Change.' The programme has replaced all ticket machines and introduced ticket gates at the busiest stations - part of the transition to smart ticketing. All Metro trains are being completely refurbished and most stations are undergoing improvement works (or in some cases complete reconstruction, for example North Shields). In addition; tracks, signalling and overhead wires are also being overhauled. Longer term plans include the procurement of an entirely new fleet of trains and further extensions to the system. Proposed routes include to Newcastle's west end, to the Cobalt business park in North Tyneside, to the Metrocentre in Gateshead and to additional locations in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Several of the proposed routes would require trams as opposed to the current light rail trains.

Question: What is the name of the current refurbishment the system is undergoing?

Question: What does the replacement of the ticket machines and introduction of ticket gates herald the transition to?

Question: What is being overhauled as part of the improvement works?

Question: What will be obtained as part of longer term plans for improvements to Newcastle's train system?

Question: What type of train would some of the proposed new routes require?


Context: Major roads in the area include the A1 (Gateshead Newcastle Western Bypass), stretching north to Edinburgh and south to London; the A19 heading south past Sunderland and Middlesbrough to York and Doncaster; the A69 heading west to Carlisle; the A696, which becomes the A68 heads past Newcastle Airport and up through central Northumberland and central Scottish Borders, the A167, the old "Great North Road", heading south to Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, Durham and Darlington; and the A1058 "Coast Road", which runs from Jesmond to the east coast between Tynemouth and Cullercoats. Many of these designations are recent—upon completion of the Western Bypass, and its designation as the new line of the A1, the roads between this and the A1's former alignment through the Tyne Tunnel were renumbered, with many city centre roads changing from a 6-prefix to their present 1-prefix numbers. In November 2011 the capacity of the Tyne Tunnel was increased when a project to build a second road tunnel and refurbish the first tunnel was completed.

Question: What major Newcastle road stretches from Edinburgh to London?

Question: What Newcastle road heads west to Carlisle?

Question: What's the nickname for Newcastle's A167?

Question: What was renumbered in Newcastle upon completion of the Western Bypass?

Question: What was increased in November 2011?


Context: There are 3 main bus companies providing services in the city; Arriva North East, Go North East and Stagecoach North East. There are two major bus stations in the city: Haymarket bus station and Eldon Square bus station. Arriva mainly operates from Haymarket Bus Station providing the majority of services to the north of Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside. Go-Ahead operates from Eldon Square Bus Station, providing the majority of services south of the river in Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham. Stagecoach is the primary operator in the city proper, with cross-city services mainly between both the West and East ends via the city centre with some services extending out to the MetroCentre, Killingworth, Wallsend and Ponteland. Bus Services in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding boroughs part of the Tyne and Wear area are coordinated by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive.

Question: How many bus companies provide service to the city of Newcastle?

Question: How many major bus stations are in the city of Newcastle?

Question: Who is Newcastle's primary bus operator in the city proper?

Question: What is Nexus?

Question: What bus company in Newcastle provides the majority of services south of the river?


Context: Following guidelines set in the National Cycling strategy, Newcastle first developed its cycling strategy in 1998. As of 2012, the local council social aims and objectives for cycling include: highlighting the usage of cycling to cut city congestion; educating that cycling promotes healthy living… The authority also has infrastructure aims and objectives which include: developing on road cycle networks on quieter streets; making safer routes on busier streets; innovating and implementing contraflows on one way streets; developing the existing off road cycle route networks and improve signage; joining up routes that are partially or completely isolated; Increase the number of cycle parking facilities; working with employers to integrate cycling into workplace travel plans; link the local networks to national networks.

Question: What year did Newcastle first develop its cycling strategy?

Question: What does the local council hope will help cut down traffic congestion in Newcastle?

Question: What type of living does cycling promote?

Question: What streets are contraflows to be implemented on in Newcastle?

Question: What would the local council of Newcastle like to link their local bike networks to?


Context: From Newcastle International Ferry Terminal, at North Shields, Danish DFDS Seaways run a service to IJmuiden (near Amsterdam). The DFDS ferry service to Gothenburg, Sweden, ceased at the end of October 2006 – the company cited high fuel prices and new competition from low-cost air services as the cause – and their service to Bergen and Stavanger, Norway was terminated late 2008. Since summer 2007, Thomson cruise lines have included Newcastle as a departure port on its Norwegian and Fjords cruise.

Question: Who runs a service out of Newcastle's International Ferry Terminal?

Question: When did the DFDS ferry service to Sweden case operation?

Question: What did DFDS cite as the reasons it terminated operations?

Question: When did DFDS terminate its services to Norway?

Question: What cruise line has included Newcastle as a departure port since 2007?


Context: There are eleven LEA-funded 11 to 18 schools and seven independent schools with sixth forms in Newcastle. There are a number of successful state schools, including Walker Technology College, Gosforth High School, Heaton Manor School, St Cuthbert's High School, St. Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kenton School, George Stephenson High School, Sacred Heart and Benfield School. The largest co-ed independent school is the Royal Grammar School. The largest girls' independent school is Newcastle High School for Girls. Both schools are located on the same street in Jesmond. Newcastle School for Boys is the only independent boys' only school in the city and is situated in Gosforth. Newcastle College is the largest general further education college in the North East and is a beacon status college; there are two smaller colleges in the Newcastle area. St Cuthbert's High School and Sacred Heart are the two primary state-Catholic run high schools, and are both achieving results on par with the independent schools in Newcastle.

Question: How many LEA-funded 11 to 18 schools are there in Newcastle?

Question: How many of the schools in Newcastle are independent?

Question: What is the largest co-ed independent school in Newcastle?

Question: What is the largest general further education college in the North East?

Question: What religion is St Cuthbert's High School dominated by?


Context: The city has two universities — Newcastle University and Northumbria University. Newcastle University has its origins in the School of Medicine and Surgery, established in 1834 and became independent from Durham University on 1 August 1963 to form the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Newcastle University is now one of the UK's leading international universities. It won the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year award in 2000. Northumbria University has its origins in the Newcastle Polytechnic, established in 1969 and became the University of Northumbria at Newcastle in 1992 as part of the UK-wide process in which polytechnics became new universities. Northumbria University was voted 'Best New University' by The Times Good University Guide 2005 and also won a much coveted company award of the "Most IT enabled organisation" (in the UK), by the IT industry magazine Computing.

Question: How many universities does Newcastle have?

Question: Which university has its origins in a school dealing with medicine and surgery?

Question: What did Newcastle University win in 2000?

Question: What happened in 1992 in a UK-wide process?

Question: What university won the award for Most IT enabled organisation?


Context: Newcastle has three cathedrals, the Anglican St. Nicholas, with its elegant lantern tower of 1474, the Roman Catholic St. Mary's designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and the Coptic Cathedral located in Fenham. All three cathedrals began their lives as parish churches. St Mary's became a cathedral in 1850 and St Nicholas' in 1882. Another prominent church in the city centre is the Church of St Thomas the Martyr which is the only parish church in the Church of England without a parish and which is not a peculiar.

Question: How many cathedrals does Newcastle have?

Question: What year was St. Nicholas' lantern tower made?

Question: Which cathedral is located in Fenham?

Question: Which church's saint is nicknamed The Martyr?

Question: What did all three cathedrals in Newcastle begin their existence as?


Context: The Parish Church of St Andrew is traditionally recognised as 'the oldest church in this town'. The present building was begun in the 12th Century and the last addition to it, apart from the vestries, was the main porch in 1726. It is quite possible that there was an earlier church here dating from Saxon times. This older church would have been one of several churches along the River Tyne dedicated to St Andrew, including the Priory church at Hexham. The building contains more old stonework than any other church in Newcastle. It is surrounded by the last of the ancient churchyards to retain its original character. Many key names associated with Newcastle's history worshipped and were buried here. The church tower received a battering during the Siege of Newcastle by the Scots who finally breached the Town Wall and forced surrender. Three of the cannonballs remain on site as testament to the siege.

Question: Which parish church in Newcastle is typically agreed to be the oldest one in town?

Question: What year was the latest addition to the Church of St. Andrew?

Question: What was added to the the church of St. Andrew in 1726?

Question: What surrounds the church of St. Andrew?

Question: What received a battering during the Siege of Newcastle?


Context: ITV Tyne Tees was based at City Road for over 40 years after its launch in January 1959. In 2005 it moved to a new facility on The Watermark business park next to the MetroCentre in Gateshead. The entrance to studio 5 at the City Road complex gave its name to the 1980s music television programme, The Tube. BBC North East and Cumbria is located to the north of the city on Barrack Road, Spital Tongues, in a building known, as the result of its colouring, as the Pink Palace. It is from here that the Corporation broadcasts the Look North television regional news programme and local radio station BBC Radio Newcastle.

Question: Where was ITV Tyne Tees based for over 40 years?

Question: Where did ITV Tyne Tees move in 2005?

Question: What gave its name to the 1980s music television program "The Tube"?

Question: Why is the building on Spital Tongues known as the Pink Palace?

Question: What local radio station is broadcast by the Corporation from the Pink Palace?


Context: NE1fm launched on 8 June 2007, the first full-time community radio station in the area. Newcastle Student Radio is run by students from both of the city's universities, broadcasting from Newcastle University's student's union building during term time. Radio Tyneside has been the voluntary hospital radio service for most hospitals across Newcastle and Gateshead since 1951, broadcasting on Hospedia  and online. The city also has a Radio Lollipop station based at the Great North Children's Hospital in the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Question: What is the name of Newcastle's first full-time community radio station?

Question: What radio station do the students of Newcastle's two universities run?

Question: How long has Radio Tyneside been the voluntary hospital radio service?

Question: What Newcastle radio station is based at the Great North Children's Hospital?

Question: Where does the Newcastle Student Radio station broadcast from during terms?


Context: Charles Avison, the leading British composer of concertos in the 18th century, was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1709 and died there in 1770. Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster, was born in the city in 1923. Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, was born in the city. Ironmaster, metallurgist, and member of parliament Isaac Lowthian Bell was born in the city in 1816. Other notable people born in or associated with Newcastle include: engineer and industrialist Lord Armstrong, engineer and father of the modern steam railways George Stephenson, his son, also an engineer, Robert Stephenson, engineer and inventor of the steam turbine Sir Charles Parsons, inventor of the incandescent light bulb Sir Joseph Swan, modernist poet Basil Bunting, and Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor. Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz was a diplomat in Newcastle from late 1874 until April 1879—his most productive literary period. Former Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva, was born in the city.

Question: What year did Charles Avison die in Newcastle?

Question: What title did Newcastle native Basil Hume achieve?

Question: Who is known as the father of the modern steam railways?

Question: What did Sir Charles Parsons invent?

Question: What country was Abhisit Vejjajiva prime minister of, despite having been born in Newcastle?


Context: Musicians Eric Burdon, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Alan Hull, Cheryl Cole and Neil Tennant lived in Newcastle. Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch were both former pupils of Rutherford Grammar School, actors Charlie Hunnam and James Scott, entertainers Ant and Dec and international footballers Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer were born in Newcastle. Multiple circumnavigator David Scott Cowper, Nobel Prize winning physicist Peter Higgs, and former WWE NXT champion Neville were born in the city. John Dunn, inventor of keyed Northumbrian smallpipes, the most characteristic musical instrument in the region, lived and worked in the city.

Question: What school did both Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch attend?

Question: What is Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer's profession?

Question: What prize did Peter Higgs win?

Question: What did John Dunn invent?

Question: What city was former WWE NXT champion Neville born in?


Context: The V&A covers 12.5 acres (51,000 m2) and 145 galleries. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. The museum owns the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, with the holdings of Italian Renaissance items being the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world. Overall, it is one of the largest museums in the world.

Question: How many acres does the V&A cover?

Question: How many galleries does the V&A have?

Question: How many years does the V&A's collections span?

Question: Which cultures are represented in the V&A's collections?

Question: The V&A owns the largest collection of which period in sculptural art history?


Context: The V&A has its origins in the Great Exhibition of 1851, with which Henry Cole, the museum's first director, was involved in planning; initially it was known as the Museum of Manufactures, first opening in May 1852 at Marlborough House, but by September had been transferred to Somerset House. At this stage the collections covered both applied art and science. Several of the exhibits from the Exhibition were purchased to form the nucleus of the collection. By February 1854 discussions were underway to transfer the museum to the current site and it was renamed South Kensington Museum. In 1855 the German architect Gottfried Semper, at the request of Cole, produced a design for the museum, but it was rejected by the Board of Trade as too expensive. The site was occupied by Brompton Park House; this was extended including the first refreshment rooms opened in 1857, the museum being the first in the world to provide such a facility.

Question: The V&A has its origins in which world exposition?

Question: Who was the V&A's first director?

Question: What was the museum originally called?

Question: Where was the V&A transferred to from its original location at Marlborough House?

Question: Which German architect was asked to produce a design for the museum?


Context: The official opening by Queen Victoria was on 22 June 1857. In the following year, late night openings were introduced, made possible by the use of gas lighting. This was to enable in the words of Cole "to ascertain practically what hours are most convenient to the working classes"—this was linked to the use of the collections of both applied art and science as educational resources to help boost productive industry. In these early years the practical use of the collection was very much emphasised as opposed to that of "High Art" at the National Gallery and scholarship at the British Museum. George Wallis (1811–1891), the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection, passionately promoted the idea of wide art education through the museum collections. This led to the transfer to the museum of the School of Design that had been founded in 1837 at Somerset House; after the transfer it was referred to as the Art School or Art Training School, later to become the Royal College of Art which finally achieved full independence in 1949. From the 1860s to the 1880s the scientific collections had been moved from the main museum site to various improvised galleries to the west of Exhibition Road. In 1893 the "Science Museum" had effectively come into existence when a separate director was appointed.

Question: Who officially opened the V&A?

Question: What is the exact date of the V&A's official opening?

Question: Who is known as the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at the V&A?

Question: The use of gas lighting made what possible the year after the museum officially opened?

Question: In which year did the Royal College of Art gained full independence from the V&A?


Context: Before the return of the collections after the war, the Britain Can Make It exhibition was held between September and November 1946, attracting nearly a million and a half visitors. This was organised by the Council of Industrial Design established by the British government in 1944 "to promote by all practicable means the improvement of design in the products of British industry". The success of this exhibition led to the planning of the Festival of Britain (1951). By 1948 most of the collections had been returned to the museum.

Question: When was the Britain Can Make It exhibition held?

Question: How many visitors did the Britain Can Make It exhibition attract?

Question: Who organized the Britain Can Make It exhibition?

Question: The success of the Britain Can Make It exhibition led to the planning of what exhibition in 1951?

Question: Most of the museum's collection had been returned by which year?


Context: In July 1973, as part of its outreach programme to young people, the V&A became the first museum in Britain to present a rock concert. The V&A presented a combined concert/lecture by British progressive folk-rock band Gryphon, who explored the lineage of mediaeval music and instrumentation and related how those contributed to contemporary music 500 years later. This innovative approach to bringing young people to museums was a hallmark of the directorship of Roy Strong and was subsequently emulated by some other British museums.

Question: What did the V&A present in July 1973 as part of its youth outreach programme?

Question: Which musical group did the V&A present in July 1973 as part of its youth outreach programme?

Question: The V&A's youth outreach programme was a hallmark of whose directorship?

Question: Which musical genre did the progressive folk-rock band Gryphon presented at a concert/lecture at the V&A?


Context: The V&A is in discussion with the University of Dundee, University of Abertay, Dundee City Council and the Scottish Government with a view to opening a new £43 million gallery in Dundee that would use the V&A brand although it would be funded through and operated independently. As of 2015, with costs estimated at £76 million, it is the most expensive gallery project ever undertaken in Scotland. The V&A Dundee will be on the city's waterfront and is intended to focus on fashion, architecture, product design, graphic arts and photography. It is planned that it could open within five years. Dundee City Council is expected to pay a major part of the running costs. The V&A is not contributing financially, but will be providing expertise, loans and exhibitions.

Question: The V&A is looking to open a branded gallery in which city in Scotland?

Question: What is the estimated cost of the V&A branded gallery?

Question: Where in Dundee will the gallery be located?

Question: What will V&A Dundee focus on?

Question: When could V&A Dundee?


Context: The Victorian parts of the building have a complex history, with piecemeal additions by different architects. Founded in May 1852, it was not until 1857 that the museum moved to the present site. This area of London was known as Brompton but had been renamed South Kensington. The land was occupied by Brompton Park House, which was extended, most notably by the "Brompton Boilers", which were starkly utilitarian iron galleries with a temporary look and were later dismantled and used to build the V&A Museum of Childhood. The first building to be erected that still forms part of the museum was the Sheepshanks Gallery in 1857 on the eastern side of the garden. Its architect was civil engineer Captain Francis Fowke, Royal Engineers, who was appointed by Cole. The next major expansions were designed by the same architect, the Turner and Vernon galleries built 1858-9 to house the eponymous collections (later transferred to the Tate Gallery) and now used as the picture galleries and tapestry gallery respectively. The North and South Courts, were then built, both of which opened by June 1862. They now form the galleries for temporary exhibitions and are directly behind the Sheepshanks Gallery. On the very northern edge of the site is situated the Secretariat Wing, also built in 1862 this houses the offices and board room etc. and is not open to the public.

Question: What was the building that formerly occupied the V&A's present site called?

Question: What was the first building erected that still forms part of the museum?

Question: Who designed the Turner and Vernon galleries that were built in 1858-9?

Question: In which year were the North and South Courts opened?

Question: What does the Secretariat Wing house?


Context: An ambitious scheme of decoration was developed for these new areas: a series of mosaic figures depicting famous European artists of the Medieval and Renaissance period. These have now been removed to other areas of the museum. Also started were a series of frescoes by Lord Leighton: Industrial Arts as Applied to War 1878–1880 and Industrial Arts Applied to Peace, which was started but never finished. To the east of this were additional galleries, the decoration of which was the work of another designer Owen Jones, these were the Oriental Courts (covering India, China and Japan) completed in 1863, none of this decoration survives, part of these galleries became the new galleries covering the 19th century, opened in December 2006. The last work by Fowke was the design for the range of buildings on the north and west sides of the garden, this includes the refreshment rooms, reinstated as the Museum Café in 2006, with the silver gallery above, (at the time the ceramics gallery), the top floor has a splendid lecture theatre although this is seldom open to the general public. The ceramic staircase in the northwest corner of this range of buildings was designed by F. W. Moody and has architectural details of moulded and coloured pottery. All the work on the north range was designed and built in 1864–69. The style adopted for this part of the museum was Italian Renaissance, much use was made of terracotta, brick and mosaic, this north façade was intended as the main entrance to the museum with its bronze doors designed by James Gamble & Reuben Townroe having six panels depicting: Humphry Davy (chemistry); Isaac Newton (astronomy); James Watt (mechanics); Bramante (architecture); Michelangelo (sculpture); Titian (painting); thus representing the range of the museums collections, Godfrey Sykes also designed the terracotta embellishments and the mosaic in the pediment of the North Façade commemorating the Great Exhibition the profits from which helped to fund the museum, this is flanked by terracotta statue groups by Percival Ball. This building replaced Brompton Park House, which could then be demolished to make way for the south range.

Question: Who was the designer of the Oriental Courts?

Question: What art historical style was used in the decoration for the northern part of the museum?

Question: Who designed the bronze doors used as the main entrance to the museum?

Question: What famous English physicist and mathematician was depicted in the main bronze door entrance of the museum?

Question: What Italian painter was depicted in the main bronze door entrance of the museum?


Context: The interiors of the three refreshment rooms were assigned to different designers. The Green Dining Room 1866–68 was the work of Philip Webb and William Morris, and displays Elizabethan influences. The lower part of the walls are panelled in wood with a band of paintings depicting fruit and the occasional figure, with moulded plaster foliage on the main part of the wall and a plaster frieze around the decorated ceiling and stained-glass windows by Edward Burne-Jones. The Centre Refreshment Room 1865–77 was designed in a Renaissance style by James Gamble, the walls and even the Ionic columns are covered in decorative and moulded ceramic tile, the ceiling consists of elaborate designs on enamelled metal sheets and matching stained-glass windows, the marble fireplace was designed and sculpted by Alfred Stevens and was removed from Dorchester House prior to that building's demolition in 1929. The Grill Room 1876–81 was designed by Sir Edward Poynter, the lower part of the walls consist of blue and white tiles with various figures and foliage enclosed by wood panelling, above there are large tiled scenes with figures depicting the four seasons and the twelve months these were painted by ladies from the Art School then based in the museum, the windows are also stained glass, there is an elaborate cast-iron grill still in place.

Question: Who were responsible for the interior decorations of the Green Dining Room?

Question: Who designed the ceiling and stained-glass windows of the Green Dining Room?

Question: Who was responsible for the decorations of the Centre Refreshment Room?

Question: Who designed and sculpted the marble fireplace in the Centre Refreshment Room?

Question: Who was responsible for the decorations of the Grill Room?


Context: With the death of Captain Francis Fowke, Royal Engineers the next architect to work at the museum was Colonel (later Major General) Henry Young Darracott Scott, also of the Royal Engineers. He designed to the north west of the garden the five-storey School for Naval Architects (also known as the science schools), now the Henry Cole Wing in 1867–72. Scott's assistant J.W. Wild designed the impressive staircase that rises the full height of the building, made from Cadeby stone the steps are 7 feet (2.1 m) in length, the balustrades and columns are Portland stone. It is now used to jointly house the prints and architectural drawings of the V&A (prints, drawings, paintings and photographs) and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA Drawings and Archives Collections); and the Sackler Centre for arts education, which opened in 2008.

Question: Who was brought it to work on the museum after the death of Captain Francis Fowke?

Question: What was the Henry Cole Wing previously called?

Question: What stone was used for the staircase designed by J.W. Wild?

Question: What part of the V&A collection does the Henry Cole Wing houses?

Question: In which year did the Sackler Center open?


Context: Continuing the style of the earlier buildings, various designers were responsible for the decoration, the terracotta embellishments were again the work of Godfrey Sykes, although sgraffito was used to decorate the east side of the building designed by F. W. Moody, a final embellishment were the wrought iron gates made as late as 1885 designed by Starkie Gardner, these lead to a passage through the building. Scott also designed the two Cast Courts 1870–73 to the southeast of the garden (the site of the "Brompton Boilers"), these vast spaces have ceilings 70 feet (21 m) in height to accommodate the plaster casts of parts of famous buildings, including Trajan's Column (in two separate pieces). The final part of the museum designed by Scott was the Art Library and what is now the sculpture gallery on the south side of the garden, built 1877–83, the exterior mosaic panels in the parapet were designed by Reuben Townroe who also designed the plaster work in the library, Sir John Taylor designed the book shelves and cases, also this was the first part of the museum to have electric lighting. This completed the northern half of the site, creating a quadrangle with the garden at its centre, but left the museum without a proper façade. In 1890 the government launched a competition to design new buildings for the museum, with architect Alfred Waterhouse as one of the judges; this would give the museum a new imposing front entrance.

Question: What technique was used to decorate the east side of the building?

Question: Who designed the wrought iron gates that was used to embellish the east side of the building?

Question: Where on the side are the two Cast Courts located?

Question: Where is the sculpture gallery now located?

Question: Who designed the plaster work in the Art Library?


Context: The main façade, built from red brick and Portland stone, stretches 720 feet (220 m) along Cromwell Gardens and was designed by Aston Webb after winning a competition in 1891 to extend the museum. Construction took place between 1899 and 1909. Stylistically it is a strange hybrid, although much of the detail belongs to the Renaissance there are medieval influences at work. The main entrance consisting of a series of shallow arches supported by slender columns and niches with twin doors separated by pier is Romanesque in form but Classical in detail. Likewise the tower above the main entrance has an open work crown surmounted by a statue of fame, a feature of late Gothic architecture and a feature common in Scotland, but the detail is Classical. The main windows to the galleries are also mullioned and transomed, again a Gothic feature, the top row of windows are interspersed with statues of many of the British artists whose work is displayed in the museum.

Question: Who designed the main façade that stretches along Cromwell Gardens?

Question: What building materials were used to build the main façade?

Question: How long does the main façade stretch along Cromwell Gardens?

Question: What late Gothic architectural sculptural feature is found on the tower above the main entrance?

Question: Statues of British artists adorn which part of the tower above the main entrance?


Context: Prince Albert appears within the main arch above the twin entrances, Queen Victoria above the frame around the arches and entrance, sculpted by Alfred Drury. These façades surround four levels of galleries. Other areas designed by Webb include the Entrance Hall and Rotunda, the East and West Halls, the areas occupied by the shop and Asian Galleries as well as the Costume Gallery. The interior makes much use of marble in the entrance hall and flanking staircases, although the galleries as originally designed were white with restrained classical detail and mouldings, very much in contrast to the elaborate decoration of the Victorian galleries, although much of this decoration was removed in the early 20th century.

Question: Who sculpted the representations of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria found in the main entrance?

Question: How many levels of galleries do the façades surround?

Question: Who designed the Entrance Hall and Rotunda?

Question: What building material does the entrance hall and flanking staircases use predominantly?

Question: Which British monarch appears above the frame around the arches and entrance?


Context: In the immediate post-war years there was little money available for other than essential repairs. The 1950s and early 1960s saw little in the way of building work; the first major work was the creation of new storage space for books in the Art Library in 1966 and 1967. This involved flooring over Aston Webb's main hall to form the book stacks, with a new medieval gallery on the ground floor (now the shop, opened in 2006). Then the lower ground-floor galleries in the south-west part of the museum were redesigned, opening in 1978 to form the new galleries covering Continental art 1600–1800 (late Renaissance, Baroque through Rococo and neo-Classical). In 1974 the museum had acquired what is now the Henry Cole wing from the Royal College of Science. In order to adapt the building as galleries, all the Victorian interiors except for the staircase were recast during the remodelling. To link this to the rest of the museum, a new entrance building was constructed on the site of the former boiler house, the intended site of the Spiral, between 1978 and 1982. This building is of concrete and very functional, the only embellishment being the iron gates by Christopher Hay and Douglas Coyne of the Royal College of Art. These are set in the columned screen wall designed by Aston Webb that forms the façade.

Question: Which part of the museum received the first major post-war work?

Question: What did the museum acquire from the Royal College of Science?

Question: What was constructed between 1978 and 1982 to link the Henry Cole wing to the rest of the museum?

Question: Who designed the iron gates that decorate the new entrance building?

Question: What was intended for the site of the former boiler house?


Context: A few galleries were redesigned in the 1990s including the Indian, Japanese, Chinese, iron work, the main glass galleries and the main silverware gallery which was further enhanced in 2002 when some of the Victorian decoration was recreated. This included two of the ten columns having their ceramic decoration replaced and the elaborate painted designs restored on the ceiling. As part of the 2006 renovation the mosaic floors in the sculpture gallery were restored—most of the Victorian floors were covered in linoleum after the Second World War. After the success of the British Galleries, opened in 2001, it was decided to embark on a major redesign of all the galleries in the museum; this is known as "FuturePlan", and was created in consultation with the exhibition designers and masterplanners Metaphor. The plan is expected to take about ten years and was started in 2002. To date several galleries have been redesigned, notably, in 2002: the main Silver Gallery, Contemporary; in 2003: Photography, the main entrance, The Painting Galleries; in 2004: the tunnel to the subway leading to South Kensington tube station, New signage throughout the museum, architecture, V&A and RIBA reading rooms and stores, metalware, Members' Room, contemporary glass, the Gilbert Bayes sculpture gallery; in 2005: portrait miniatures, prints and drawings, displays in Room 117, the garden, sacred silver and stained glass; in 2006: Central Hall Shop, Islamic Middle East, the new café, sculpture galleries. Several designers and architects have been involved in this work. Eva Jiřičná designed the enhancements to the main entrance and rotunda, the new shop, the tunnel and the sculpture galleries. Gareth Hoskins was responsible for contemporary and architecture, Softroom, Islamic Middle East and the Members' Room, McInnes Usher McKnight Architects (MUMA) were responsible for the new Cafe and designed the new Medieval and Renaissance galleries which opened in 2009.

Question: Which gallery was redesigned in the 1990s and later improved in 2002?

Question: What was restored in the sculpture gallery during its renovated in 2006?

Question: What was the title given to the major project to redesign all the galleries in the museum?

Question: A subway tunnel from the museum leads to which tube station?

Question: Who designed the new Medieval and Renaissance galleries which opened in 2009?


Context: The central garden was redesigned by Kim Wilkie and opened as the John Madejski Garden, on 5 July 2005. The design is a subtle blend of the traditional and modern, the layout is formal; there is an elliptical water feature lined in stone with steps around the edge which may be drained to use the area for receptions, gatherings or exhibition purposes. This is in front of the bronze doors leading to the refreshment rooms, a central path flanked by lawns leads to the sculpture gallery; the north, east and west sides have herbaceous borders along the museum walls with paths in front which continues along the south façade; in the two corners by the north façade there is planted an American Sweetgum tree; the southern, eastern and western edges of the lawns have glass planters which contain orange and lemon trees in summer, these are replaced by bay trees in winter.

Question: Who redesigned the central garden?

Question: The redesigned central garden opened in 2005 with what new moniker?

Question: What shape is the water feature in the John Madejski Garden?

Question: The steps around the water feature can be drained for what uses?

Question: Which tree species is planted in the two corners by the north facade?


Context: In 2004, the V&A alongside Royal Institute of British Architects opened the first permanent gallery in the UK covering the history of architecture with displays using models, photographs, elements from buildings and original drawings. With the opening of the new gallery, the RIBA Drawings and Archives Collection has been transferred to the museum, joining the already extensive collection held by the V&A. With over 600,000 drawings, over 750,000 papers and paraphernalia, and over 700,000 photographs from around the world, together they form the world's most comprehensive architectural resource.

Question: In which year did the V&A opened the first permanent architectural history gallery in the UK?

Question: Which institution did the V&A partnered with to open the first permanent architectural history gallery in the UK?

Question: Approximately how many architectural drawings does the V&A hold in its collection?

Question: What collection was transferred to the museum when the new architectural history gallery opened?

Question: Approximately how many architectural photographs does the V&A hold in its collection?


Context: Not only are all the major British architects of the last four hundred years represented, but many European (especially Italian) and American architects' drawings are held in the collection. The RIBA's holdings of over 330 drawings by Andrea Palladio are the largest in the world, other Europeans well represented are Jacques Gentilhatre and Antonio Visentini. British architects whose drawings, and in some cases models of their buildings, in the collection, include: Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir John Vanbrugh, Nicholas Hawksmoor, William Kent, James Gibbs, Robert Adam, Sir William Chambers, James Wyatt, Henry Holland, John Nash, Sir John Soane, Sir Charles Barry, Charles Robert Cockerell, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, Sir George Gilbert Scott, John Loughborough Pearson, George Edmund Street, Richard Norman Shaw, Alfred Waterhouse, Sir Edwin Lutyens, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Charles Holden, Frank Hoar, Lord Richard Rogers, Lord Norman Foster, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Zaha Hadid and Alick Horsnell.

Question: The RIBA's drawing collection of what Italian architect is considered the largest in the world?

Question: Which lone female architect listed above is represented in the collection?

Question: Approximately how many drawings of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio is in the RIBA collection?

Question: Which architect, famous for designing London's St. Paul Cathedral, is represented in the RIBA collection?

Question: Which architect, famous for the India Gate in New Delhi, is represented in the RIBA collection?


Context: As well as period rooms, the collection includes parts of buildings, for example the two top stories of the facade of Sir Paul Pindar's house dated c1600 from Bishopsgate with elaborately carved wood work and leaded windows, a rare survivor of the Great Fire of London, there is a brick portal from a London house of the English Restoration period and a fireplace from the gallery of Northumberland house. European examples include a dormer window dated 1523–35 from the chateau of Montal. There are several examples from Italian Renaissance buildings including, portals, fireplaces, balconies and a stone buffet that used to have a built in fountain. The main architecture gallery has a series of pillars from various buildings and different periods, for example a column from the Alhambra. Examples covering Asia are in those galleries concerned with those countries, as well as models and photographs in the main architecture gallery.

Question: Which part of London was Sir Paul Pindar's house, whose façade now resides in the V&A collection, located?

Question: Sir Paul Pindar's house survived which 17th century disaster?

Question: When is Sir Pindar's house dated?

Question: Included in the V&A collection is dormer window dated 1523-35 from which European chateau?

Question: A column from which Moorish palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain, is included in the V&A collection?


Context: The V&A holds over 19,000 items from the Islamic world, ranging from the early Islamic period (the 7th century) to the early 20th century. The Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art, opened in 2006, houses a representative display of 400 objects with the highlight being the Ardabil Carpet, the centrepiece of the gallery. The displays in this gallery cover objects from Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Afghanistan. A masterpiece of Islamic art is a 10th-century Rock crystal ewer. Many examples of Qur'āns with exquisite calligraphy dating from various periods are on display. A 15th-century minbar from a Cairo mosque with ivory forming complex geometrical patterns inlaid in wood is one of the larger objects on display. Extensive examples of ceramics especially Iznik pottery, glasswork including 14th-century lamps from mosques and metalwork are on display. The collection of Middle Eastern and Persian rugs and carpets is amongst the finest in the world, many were part of the Salting Bequest of 1909. Examples of tile work from various buildings including a fireplace dated 1731 from Istanbul made of intricately decorated blue and white tiles and turquoise tiles from the exterior of buildings from Samarkand are also displayed.

Question: Approximately how many items from the Islamic world are held in the V&A collection?

Question: In which year did the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art opened?

Question: What is considered the centerpiece of the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art?

Question: Some of the objects held in the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art come from which European country?

Question: In which year was the Salting Bequest?


Context: The Museum's collections of South and South-East Asian art are the most comprehensive and important in the West comprising nearly 60,000 objects, including about 10,000 textiles and 6000 paintings, the range of the collection is immense. The Jawaharlal Nehru gallery of Indian art, opened in 1991, contains art from about 500 BC to the 19th century. There is an extensive collection of sculpture, mainly of a religious nature, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain. The gallery is richly endowed with art of the Mughal Empire and the Marathas, including fine portraits of the emperors and other paintings and drawings, jade wine cups and gold spoons inset with emeralds, diamonds and rubies, also from this period are parts of buildings such as a jaali and pillars. India was a large producer of textiles, from dyed cotton chintz, muslin to rich embroidery work using gold and silver thread, coloured sequins and beads is displayed, as are carpets from Agra and Lahore. Examples of clothing are also displayed.

Question: Approximately how many objects comprise the museum's collections of South and South-East Asian art?

Question: Approximately how many textiles comprise the museum's collections of South and South-East Asian art?

Question: Approximately how many paintings comprise the museum's collections of South and South-East Asian art?

Question: In which year did the gallery of Indian art open?

Question: Who is the gallery of Indian art named after?


Context: The Far Eastern collections include more than 70,000 works of art from the countries of East Asia: China, Japan and Korea. The T. T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese art opened in 1991, displaying a representative collection of the V&As approximately 16,000 objects from China, dating from the 4th millennium BC to the present day. Though the majority of art works on display date from the Ming and Qing dynasties, there are exquisite examples of objects dating from the Tang dynasty and earlier periods. Notably, a metre-high bronze head of the Buddha dated to c.750 AD and one of the oldest items a 2,000-year-old jade horse head from a burial, other sculptures include life-size tomb guardians. Classic examples of Chinese manufacturing are displayed that include lacquer, silk, porcelain, jade and cloisonné enamel. Two large ancestor portraits of a husband and wife painted in watercolour on silk date from the 18th century. There is a unique Chinese lacquerware table, made in the imperial workshops during the reign of the Xuande Emperor in the Ming dynasty. Examples of clothing are also displayed. One of the largest objects is a bed from the mid-17th century. The work of contemporary Chinese designers is also displayed.

Question: Approximately how many works of art are included in the Far Eastern collections?

Question: Which countries are represented in the Far Eastern collections?

Question: What is the name of the gallery devoted to Chinese art?

Question: In which year did the gallery devoted to Chinese art open?

Question: Most of the Chinese works of art in the Far Eastern collections date from which two dynasties?


Context: The Toshiba gallery of Japanese art opened in December 1986. The majority of exhibits date from 1550 to 1900, but one of the oldest pieces displayed is the 13th-century sculpture of Amida Nyorai. Examples of classic Japanese armour from the mid-19th century, steel sword blades (Katana), Inrō, lacquerware including the Mazarin Chest dated c1640 is one of the finest surviving pieces from Kyoto, porcelain including Imari, Netsuke, woodblock prints including the work of Ando Hiroshige, graphic works include printed books, as well as a few paintings, scrolls and screens, textiles and dress including kimonos are some of the objects on display. One of the finest objects displayed is Suzuki Chokichi's bronze incense burner (koro) dated 1875, standing at over 2.25 metres high and 1.25 metres in diameter it is also one of the largest examples made. The museum also holds some cloisonné pieces from the Japanese art production company, Ando Cloisonné.

Question: Which company is the gallery of Japanese art named after?

Question: In which year did the gallery of Japanese art open?

Question: The sculpture of Amida Nyorai that is included in the V&A's Japanese art collection is dated to which century?

Question: Most of the objects in the Japanese art collection is dated to which time period?

Question: Suzuki Chokichi's incense burner dated 1875 is made of what from material?


Context: The smaller galleries cover Korea, the Himalayan kingdoms and South East Asia. Korean displays include green-glazed ceramics, silk embroideries from officials' robes and gleaming boxes inlaid with mother-of-pearl made between 500 AD and 2000. Himalayan items include important early Nepalese bronze sculptures, repoussé work and embroidery. Tibetan art from the 14th to the 19th century is represented by notable 14th- and 15th-century religious images in wood and bronze, scroll paintings and ritual objects. Art from Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka in gold, silver, bronze, stone, terracotta and ivory represents these rich and complex cultures, the displays span the 6th to 19th centuries. Refined Hindu and Buddhist sculptures reflect the influence of India; items on show include betel-nut cutters, ivory combs and bronze palanquin hooks.

Question: Tibetan art from which period is represented in the V&A collection?

Question: Which South Asian island nation is represented in the V&A collection?

Question: The influence of India can be seen in which religious art objects from Thailand, Burma and Cambodia?

Question: Some of the museum's collection of Korean boxes are inlaid with what objects?

Question: Some of the combs in the V&A collection of South East Asian art is made of what material?


Context: One of the great treasures in the library is the Codex Forster, some of Leonardo da Vinci's note books. The Codex consists of three parchment-bound manuscripts, Forster I, Forster II, and Forster III, quite small in size, dated between 1490 and 1505. Their contents include a large collection of sketches and references to the equestrian sculpture commissioned by the Duke of Milan Ludovico Sforza to commemorate his father Francesco Sforza. These were bequeathed with over 18,000 books to the museum in 1876 by John Forster. The Reverend Alexander Dyce was another benefactor of the library, leaving over 14,000 books to the museum in 1869. Amongst the books he collected are early editions in Greek and Latin of the poets and playwrights Aeschylus, Aristotle, Homer, Livy, Ovid, Pindar, Sophocles and Virgil. More recent authors include Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante, Racine, Rabelais and Molière.

Question: The Codex Forster is a collection of notebooks by which famous Italian Renaissance polymath?

Question: What are the three parchment-bound manuscripts of the Codex Forster called?

Question: Approximately how books did Alexander Dyce bequeathed to the museum?

Question: In which year did Alexander Dyce bequeathed his books to the museum?

Question: In which year did John Forster bequeathed his large collection of books to the museum?


Context: Writers whose papers are in the library are as diverse as Charles Dickens and Beatrix Potter. Illuminated manuscripts in the library dating from the 12th to 16th centuries include: the Eadwine Psalter[citation needed], Canterbury; Pocket Book of Hours, Reims; Missal from the Royal Abbey of Saint Denis, Paris; the Simon Marmion Book of Hours, Bruges; 1524 Charter illuminated by Lucas Horenbout, London; the Armagnac manuscript of the trial and rehabilitation of Joan of Arc, Rouen. also the Victorian period is represented by William Morris.

Question: The papers of which famous English Victorian author are collected in the library?

Question: The papers of which famous English writer of children's books such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit are collected in the museum?

Question: The V&A library's collection of illuminated manuscripts are dated to which centuries?

Question: What does the Armagnac manuscript in the V&A library archive depict?

Question: Who produced the illumination for the 1524 Charter that is in the V&A library archive?


Context: The National Art Library (also called Word and Image Department) at the Victoria and Albert Museum collection catalog used to be kept in different formats including printed exhibit catalogs, and card catalogs. A computer system called MODES cataloging system was used from the 1980s to the 1990s, but those electronic files were not available to the library users. All of the archival material at the National Art Library is using Encoded Archival Description (EAD). The Victoria and Albert Museum has a computer system but most of the items in the collection, unless those were newly accessioned into the collection, probably do not show up in the computer system. There is a feature on the Victoria and Albert Museum web-site called "Search the Collections," but not everything is listed there.

Question: The National Art Library at the V&A is known by what other name?

Question: What cataloging system was used by the National Art Library from the 1980s to the 1990s?

Question: What archival system is used for all material at the National Art Library?

Question: What type of item is the mostly likely to show in the V&A computer system?

Question: What is the search feature on the V&A website called?


Context: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Word and Image Department was under the same pressure being felt in archives around the world, to digitize their collection. A large scale digitization project began in 2007 in that department. That project was entitled the Factory Project to reference Andy Warhol and to create a factory to completely digitize the collection. The first step of the Factory Project was to take photographs utilizing digital cameras. The Word and Image Department had a collection of old photos but they were in black and white and in variant conditions, so new photos were shot. Those new photographs will be accessible to researchers to the Victoria and Albert Museum web-site. 15,000 images were taken during the first year of the Factory Project, including drawings, watercolors, computer-generated art, photographs, posters, and woodcuts. The second step of the Factory Project is to catalog everything. The third step of the Factory Project is to audit the collection. All of those items which were photographed and cataloged, must be audited to make sure everything listed as being in the collection was physically found during the creation of the Factory Project. The fourth goal of the Factory Project is conservation, which means performing some basic preventable procedures to those items in the department. There is a "Search the Collections" feature on the Victoria and Albert web-site. The main impetus behind the large-scale digitization project called the Factory Project was to list more items in the collections in those computer databases.

Question: In which year did the V&A's Word and Image Department began a large scale digitization project?

Question: What was the digitization project called?

Question: The title of the digitization project was a reference to which artist?

Question: Approximately how many images were digitized during the first year of the digitization project?

Question: What is the second phase of the digitization project?


Context: Not only the work of British artists and craftspeople is on display, but also work produced by European artists that was purchased or commissioned by British patrons, as well as imports from Asia, including porcelain, cloth and wallpaper. Designers and artists whose work is on display in the galleries include Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Grinling Gibbons, Daniel Marot, Louis Laguerre, Antonio Verrio, Sir James Thornhill, William Kent, Robert Adam, Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton, Canova, Thomas Chippendale, Pugin, William Morris. Patrons who have influenced taste are also represented by works of art from their collections, these include: Horace Walpole (a major influence on the Gothic Revival), William Thomas Beckford and Thomas Hope.

Question: Who purchased or commissioned the works of European artists included the British galleries of the V&A?

Question: Some non-British works in the British galleries were imported from which continent?

Question: Which Italian that is credited with the creating the Baroque style of sculpture is represented in the V&A's British galleries?

Question: Which artist who had a major influence on the Gothic Revival is represented in the V&A's British galleries?

Question: What type of works from Asia are included in the V&A's British galleries?


Context: The galleries also link design to wider trends in British culture. For instance, design in the Tudor period was influenced by the spread of printed books and the work of European artists and craftsmen employed in Britain. In the Stuart period, increasing trade, especially with Asia, enabled wider access to luxuries like carpets, lacquered furniture, silks and porcelain. In the Georgian age there was increasing emphasis on entertainment and leisure. For example, the increase in tea drinking led to the production of tea paraphernalia such as china and caddies. European styles seen on the Grand Tour also influenced taste. As the Industrial Revolution took hold, the growth of mass production produced entrepreneurs such as Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton and Eleanor Coade. In the Victorian era new technology and machinery had a significant effect on manufacturing, and for the first time since the reformation, the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches had a major effect on art and design such as the Gothic Revival. There is a large display on the Great Exhibition which, among other things, led to the founding of the V&A. In the later 19th century, the increasing backlash against industrialization, led by John Ruskin, contributed to the Arts and Crafts movement.

Question: What led to the production of tea paraphernalia such as china and caddies during the Georgian period?

Question: What British cultural trend during the Georgian is linked to design during the same period?

Question: Who is considered the leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement?

Question: The entrepreneurs Josiah Wedgwood, Matthew Boulton and Eleanor Coade were influenced by what manufacturing process developed during the Industrial Revolution?

Question: A reaction against industrialiazation contributed to the development of what artistic movement in the late 19th centurY


Context: One of the most dramatic parts of the museum is the Cast Courts in the sculpture wing, comprising two large, skylighted rooms two storeys high housing hundreds of plaster casts of sculptures, friezes and tombs. One of these is dominated by a full-scale replica of Trajan's Column, cut in half in order to fit under the ceiling. The other includes reproductions of various works of Italian Renaissance sculpture and architecture, including a full-size replica of Michelangelo's David. Replicas of two earlier Davids by Donatello's David and Verrocchio's David, are also included, although for conservation reasons the Verrocchio replica is displayed in a glass case.

Question: Which Ancient Roman monument is replicated in full-scale in the Cast Courts?

Question: What was done to the Trajan's Column replica to fit it under the ceiling?

Question: Which sculpture by Michelangelo has a full-size replica in the Cast Courts?

Question: The Cast Courts display plaster casts of what objects?

Question: How is the plaster replica of Verrocchio's David displayed in the Cast Courts?


Context: Well represented in the collection is Meissen porcelain, from the first factory in Europe to discover the Chinese method of making porcelain. Among the finest examples are the Meissen Vulture from 1731 and the Möllendorff Dinner Service, designed in 1762 by Frederick II the Great. Ceramics from the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres are extensive, especially from the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection of 18th-century British porcelain is the largest and finest in the world. Examples from every factory are represented, the collections of Chelsea porcelain and Worcester Porcelain being especially fine. All the major 19th-century British factories are also represented. A major boost to the collections was the Salting Bequest made in 1909, which enriched the museum's stock of Chinese and Japanese ceramics. This bequest forms part of the finest collection of East Asian pottery and porcelain in the world, including Kakiemon ware.

Question: In which year are the Meissen Vulture in the V&A collection dated?

Question: Who designed the  Möllendorff Dinner Service?

Question: In which year was Möllendorff Dinner Service designed?

Question: In which year was the Salting Bequest made?

Question: Which part of the V&A collection did the Salting Bequest enhanced?


Context: Many famous potters, such as Josiah Wedgwood, William De Morgan and Bernard Leach as well as Mintons & Royal Doulton are represented in the collection. There is an extensive collection of Delftware produced in both Britain and Holland, which includes a circa 1695 flower pyramid over a metre in height. Bernard Palissy has several examples of his work in the collection including dishes, jugs and candlesticks. The largest objects in the collection are a series of elaborately ornamented ceramic stoves from the 16th and 17th centuries, made in Germany and Switzerland. There is an unrivalled collection of Italian maiolica and lustreware from Spain. The collection of Iznik pottery from Turkey is the largest in the world.

Question: Which three famous British potters are represented the the V&A ceramics collection?

Question: From which countries were the V&A's collection of Delftware produced?

Question: What are the largest objects in the V&A ceramics and glass collection?

Question: The largest objects in the V&A ceramics and glass collection were produced during which time period?

Question: The largest objects in the V&A ceramics and glass collection were produced in which countries?


Context: The glass collection covers 4000 years of glass making, and has over 6000 items from Africa, Britain, Europe, America and Asia. The earliest glassware on display comes from Ancient Egypt and continues through the Ancient Roman, Medieval, Renaissance covering areas such as Venetian glass and Bohemian glass and more recent periods, including Art Nouveau glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Émile Gallé, the Art Deco style is represented by several examples by René Lalique. There are many examples of crystal chandeliers both English, displayed in the British galleries and foreign for example Venetian (attributed to Giuseppe Briati) dated c1750 are in the collection. The stained glass collection is possibly the finest in the world, covering the medieval to modern periods, and covering Europe as well as Britain. Several examples of English 16th-century heraldic glass is displayed in the British Galleries. Many well-known designers of stained glass are represented in the collection including, from the 19th century: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. There is also an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's work in the collection. 20th-century designers include Harry Clarke, John Piper, Patrick Reyntiens, Veronica Whall and Brian Clarke.

Question: How many years does the V&A glass collection cover?

Question: Approximately how many items are in the glass collection of the V&A?

Question: Where did the earliest item in the V&A glass collection come from?

Question: The Art Deco style of glassware is represented by which artist?

Question: The Art Noveau style of glassware is represented by which two artists?


Context: The main gallery was redesigned in 1994, the glass balustrade on the staircase and mezzanine are the work of Danny Lane, the gallery covering contemporary glass opened in 2004 and the sacred silver and stained-glass gallery in 2005. In this latter gallery stained glass is displayed alongside silverware starting in the 12th century and continuing to the present. Some of the most outstanding stained glass, dated 1243–48 comes from the Sainte-Chapelle, is displayed along with other examples in the new Medieval & Renaissance galleries. The important 13th-century glass beaker known as the Luck of Edenhall is also displayed in these galleries. Examples of British stained glass are displayed in the British Galleries. One of the most spectacular items in the collection is the chandelier by Dale Chihuly in the rotunda at the Museum's main entrance.

Question: When was the main gallery of the V&A's ceramics and glass collection redesigned?

Question: Who was responsible for the glass balustrade on the staircase and mezzanine in the main gallery?

Question: When was the main gallery for the V&A's contemporary glass collection opened?

Question: Whose chandelier grace the rotunda at the V&A's main entrance?

Question: To which century is the glass beaker called Luck of Edenhall dated?


Context: The collection of drawings includes over 10,000 British and 2,000 old master works, including works by: Dürer, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Bernardo Buontalenti, Rembrandt, Antonio Verrio, Paul Sandby, John Russell, Angelica Kauffman, John Flaxman, Hugh Douglas Hamilton, Thomas Rowlandson, William Kilburn, Thomas Girtin, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, David Wilkie, John Martin, Samuel Palmer, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Lord Frederic Leighton, Sir Samuel Luke Fildes and Aubrey Beardsley. Modern British artists represented in the collection include: Paul Nash, Percy Wyndham Lewis, Eric Gill, Stanley Spencer, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Lucian Freud and David Hockney.

Question: Approximately how many British drawings are included in the V&A collection?

Question: Approximately how many old masters works are included in the V&A collection?

Question: Which famous Germain Renaissance painter and printmaker is represented in the drawings collection of the V&A?

Question: Which famous Dutch artist who painted The Night Watch is represented in the drawings collection of the V&A?

Question: Which famous French artist who painted the Grande Odalisque of 1814 is represented in the drawings collection of the V&A?


Context: The costume collection is the most comprehensive in Britain, containing over 14,000 outfits plus accessories, mainly dating from 1600 to the present. Costume sketches, design notebooks, and other works on paper are typically held by the Word and Image department. Because everyday clothing from previous eras has not generally survived, the collection is dominated by fashionable clothes made for special occasions. One of the first significant gifts of costume came in 1913 when the V&A received the Talbot Hughes collection containing 1,442 costumes and items as a gift from Harrods following its display at the nearby department store.

Question: Approximately how many items are in the costume collection of the V&A?

Question: Which department houses the works on paper of the costume collection?

Question: Why is the collection dominated by fashionable clothes made for special occasions?

Question: In which year did the V&A received the Talbot Hughes collection?

Question: The Talbot Hughes collection was a gift from which company?


Context: In 2002, the Museum acquired the Costiff collection of 178 Vivienne Westwood costumes. Other famous designers with work in the collection include Coco Chanel, Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Guy Laroche, Irene Galitzine, Mila Schön, Valentino Garavani, Norman Norell, Norman Hartnell, Zandra Rhodes, Hardy Amies, Mary Quant, Christian Lacroix, Jean Muir and Pierre Cardin. The museum continues to acquire examples of modern fashion to add to the collection.

Question: When did the V&A acquired the Costiff collection?

Question: The Costiff collection comprised costumes designed by which British fashion icon?

Question: How many costumes were in the Costiff collection?

Question: What costumes collection did the V&A acquired in 2002?

Question: Which examples of fashion does the museum continue to acquire for its collection?


Context: The Soulages collection of Italian and French Renaissance objects was acquired between 1859 and 1865, and includes several cassone. The John Jones Collection of French 18th-century art and furnishings was left to the museum in 1882, then valued at £250,000. One of the most important pieces in this collection is a marquetry commode by the ébéniste Jean Henri Riesener dated c1780. Other signed pieces of furniture in the collection include a bureau by Jean-François Oeben, a pair of pedestals with inlaid brass work by André Charles Boulle, a commode by Bernard Vanrisamburgh and a work-table by Martin Carlin. Other 18th-century ébénistes represented in the Museum collection include Adam Weisweiler, David Roentgen, Gilles Joubert & Pierre Langlois. In 1901, Sir George Donaldson donated several pieces of art Nouveau furniture to the museum, which he had acquired the previous year at the Paris Exposition Universelle. This was criticized at the time, with the result that the museum ceased to collect contemporary items and did not do so again until the 1960s. In 1986 the Lady Abingdon collection of French Empire furniture was bequeathed by Mrs T. R. P. Hole.

Question: From which period did the objects in the Soulages collection come from?

Question: When was the Soulages collection acquired?

Question: What items comprise the John Jones Collection?

Question: In which year was the John Jones Collection left to the museum?

Question: What was the value of the John Jones Collection when it was left to the museum?


Context: There are a set of beautiful inlaid doors, dated 1580 from Antwerp City Hall, attributed to Hans Vredeman de Vries. One of the finest pieces of continental furniture in the collection is the Rococo Augustus Rex Bureau Cabinet dated c1750 from Germany, with especially fine marquetry and ormolu mounts. One of the grandest pieces of 19th-century furniture is the highly elaborate French Cabinet dated 1861–1867 made by M. Fourdinois, made from ebony inlaid with box, lime, holly, pear, walnut and mahogany woods as well as marble with gilded carvings. Furniture designed by Ernest Gimson, Edward William Godwin, Charles Voysey, Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner are among the late 19th-century and early 20th-century examples in the collection. The work of modernists in the collection include Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer, Charles and Ray Eames, and Giò Ponti.

Question: To which year has the Antwerp City Hall doors in the V&A collection been dated?

Question: To whom has the Antwerp City Hall doors in the V&A collection been attributed?

Question: To which year has the Rococo Augustus Rex Bureau Cabinet been dated?

Question: From which country did the Rococo Augustus Rex Bureau Cabinet come from?

Question: Which husband and wife modern furniture design team are represented in the V&A furniture collection?


Context: The jewellery collection, containing over 6000 items is one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of jewellery in the world and includes works dating from Ancient Egypt to the present day, as well as jewellery designs on paper. The museum owns pieces by renowned jewelers Cartier, Jean Schlumberger, Peter Carl Fabergé, Hemmerle and Lalique. Other items in the collection include diamond dress ornaments made for Catherine the Great, bracelet clasps once belonging to Marie Antoinette, and the Beauharnais emerald necklace presented by Napoleon to his adopted daughter Hortense de Beauharnais in 1806. The museum also collects international modern jewellery by designers such as Gijs Bakker, Onno Boekhoudt, Peter Chang, Gerda Flockinger, Lucy Sarneel, Dorothea Prühl and Wendy Ramshaw, and African and Asian traditional jewellery. Major bequests include Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend's collection of 154 gems bequeathed in 1869, Lady Cory's 1951 gift of major diamond jewellery from the 18th and 19th centuries, and jewellery scholar Dame Joan Evans' 1977 gift of more than 800 jewels dating from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. A new jewellery gallery, funded by William and Judith Bollinger, opened on 24 May 2008.

Question: Approximately how many items comprise the jewelry collection of the V&A?

Question: The earliest items in the jewelry collection come from which ancient civilization?

Question: In which year was Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend's collection of gems was bequeathed to the museum?

Question: Approximately how many gems in Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend's collection was given to the museum?

Question: Who funded the new jewelry gallery that opened in 2008?


Context: There are over 10,000 objects made from silver or gold in the collection, the display (about 15% of the collection) is divided into secular and sacred covering both Christian (Roman Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox) and Jewish liturgical vessels and items. The main silver gallery is divided into these areas: British silver pre-1800; British silver 1800 to 1900; modernist to contemporary silver; European silver. The collection includes the earliest known piece of English silver with a dated hallmark, a silver gilt beaker dated 1496–97. Silversmiths' whose work is represented in the collection include Paul de Lamerie and Paul Storr whose Castlereagh Inkstand dated 1817–19 is one of his finest works. The main iron work gallery covers European wrought and cast iron from the mediaeval period to the early 20th century. The master of wrought ironwork Jean Tijou is represented by both examples of his work and designs on paper. One of the largest items is the Hereford Screen, weighing nearly 8 tonnes, 10.5 metres high and 11 metres wide, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1862 for the chancel in Hereford Cathedral, from which it was removed in 1967. It was made by Skidmore & Company. Its structure of timber and cast iron is embellished with wrought iron, burnished brass and copper. Much of the copper and ironwork is painted in a wide range of colours. The arches and columns are decorated with polished quartz and panels of mosaic.

Question: The silver and gold collection of the V&A is divided into which categories?

Question: To which year is the earliest known piece of English silver with a dated hallmark is dated?

Question: How many tons does the Hereford Screen weigh?

Question: Who designed the Hereford Screen?

Question: Approximately how many silver and gold objects does the V&A have it its collection?


Context: One of the rarest items in the collection is the 58 cm high Gloucester Candlestick, dated to c1110, made from gilt bronze; with highly elaborate and intricate intertwining branches containing small figures and inscriptions, it is a tour de force of bronze casting. Also of importance is the Becket Casket dated c1180 to contain relics of St Thomas Becket, made from gilt copper, with enamelled scenes of the saint's martyrdom. Another highlight is the 1351 Reichenau Crozier. The Burghley Nef, a salt-cellar, French, dated 1527–28, uses a nautilus shell to form the hull of a vessel, which rests on the tail of a parcelgilt mermaid, who rests on a hexagonal gilt plinth on six claw-and-ball feet. Both masts have main and top-sails, and battlemented fighting-tops are made from gold. These items are displayed in the new Medieval & Renaissance galleries.

Question: To which year is the Gloucester Candlestick dated?

Question: Which material is the Gloucester Candlestick made from?

Question: Whose relics reside in the Becket Casket?

Question: To which year is the Becket Casket dated?

Question: Which material is the Becket Casket made from?


Context: The Musical Instruments gallery closed 25 February 2010, a decision which was highly controversial. An online petition of over 5,100 names on the Parliamentary website led to Chris Smith asking Parliament about the future of the collection. The answer, from Bryan Davies was that the museum intended to preserve and care for the collection and keep it available to the public, with items being redistributed to the British Galleries, the Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, and the planned new galleries for Furniture and Europe 1600–1800, and that the Horniman Museum and other institutions were possible candidates for loans of material to ensure that the instruments remained publicly viewable. The Horniman went on to host a joint exhibition with the V&A of musical instruments, and has the loan of 35 instruments from the museum.

Question: Approximately how many names were signed on an online petition on the Parliamentary website in response to the closing of the Musical Instruments gallery?

Question: Which Member of Parliament explained how the museum would preserve the collection and keep it available to the public?

Question: Which museum would receive items on loans from the Musical Instruments gallery?

Question: Approximately how many musical instruments were loaned to the Horniman Museum?

Question: In which year was the Musical Instruments gallery closed?


Context: The collection includes about 1130 British and 650 European oil paintings, 6800 British watercolours, pastels and 2000 miniatures, for which the museum holds the national collection. Also on loan to the museum, from Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, are the Raphael Cartoons: the seven surviving (there were ten) full scale designs for tapestries in the Sistine Chapel, of the lives of Peter and Paul from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. There is also on display a fresco by Pietro Perugino dated 1522 from the church of Castello at Fontignano (Perugia) and is amongst the painter's last works. One of the largest objects in the collection is the Spanish tempera on wood, 670 x 486 cm, retable of St George, c. 1400, consisting of numerous scenes and painted by Andrés Marzal De Sax in Valencia.

Question: Approximately how many British oil paintings does the museum have?

Question: Approximately how many European oil paintings does the museum have?

Question: Approximately how many British watercolours are in the V&A collection?

Question: Who has loaned the Raphael Cartoons to the museum?

Question: Who painted the retable of St. George that is in the V&A collection?


Context: In 1857 John Sheepshanks donated 233 paintings, mainly by contemporary British artists, and a similar number of drawings to the museum with the intention of forming a 'A National Gallery of British Art', a role since taken on by Tate Britain; artists represented are William Blake, James Barry, Henry Fuseli, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, Sir David Wilkie, William Mulready, William Powell Frith, Millais and Hippolyte Delaroche. Although some of Constable's works came to the museum with the Sheepshanks bequest, the majority of the artist's works were donated by his daughter Isabel in 1888, including the large number of sketches in oil, the most significant being the 1821 full size oil sketch for The Hay Wain. Other artists with works in the collection include: Bernardino Fungai, Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Fioravante Ferramola, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Anthony van Dyck, Ludovico Carracci, Antonio Verrio, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Domenico Tiepolo, Canaletto, Francis Hayman, Pompeo Batoni, Benjamin West, Paul Sandby, Richard Wilson, William Etty, Henry Fuseli, Sir Thomas Lawrence, James Barry, Francis Danby, Richard Parkes Bonington and Alphonse Legros.

Question: In which year did John Sheepshanks donated a large collection of paintings?

Question: How many paintings did John Sheeshanks give to the museum?

Question: What was the goal of John Sheepshanks considerable bequest to the museum?

Question: An 1821 full size oil sketch of which famous British painting was donated by John Sheepshank's daughter in 1888?

Question: The paintings donated by John Sheepshanks were by artists of which nationality?


Context: Several French paintings entered the collection as part of the 260 paintings and miniatures (not all the works were French, for example Carlo Crivelli's Virgin and Child) that formed part of the Jones bequest of 1882 and as such are displayed in the galleries of continental art 1600–1800, including the portrait of François, Duc d'Alençon by François Clouet, Gaspard Dughet and works by François Boucher including his portrait of Madame de Pompadour dated 1758, Jean François de Troy, Jean-Baptiste Pater and their contemporaries.

Question: In which galleries are the French paintings donated by Jones displayed?

Question: Whose 1758 portrait by François Boucher was part of Jones bequest?

Question: What was one example of a non-French painting was included in the Jones bequest of 1882?

Question: Whose portrait by François Clouet was included in the Jones bequest of 1882?


Context: One of the more unusual collections is that of Eadweard Muybridge's photographs of Animal Locomotion of 1887, this consists of 781 plates. These sequences of photographs taken a fraction of a second apart capture images of different animals and humans performimg various actions. There are several of John Thomson's 1876-7 images of Street Life in London in the collection. The museum also holds James Lafayette's society portraits, a collection of more than 600 photographs dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries and portraying a wide range of society figures of the period, including bishops, generals, society ladies, Indian maharajas, Ethiopian rulers and other foreign leaders, actresses, people posing in their motor cars and a sequence of photographs recording the guests at the famous fancy-dress ball held at Devonshire House in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

Question: Who created the photographic series titled Animal Locomotion?

Question: In which year was the Animal Locomotion collection created?

Question: How many photographic plates comprise the Animal Locomotion collection?

Question: What do the Animal Locomotion photographs capture?

Question: Whose society portraits from the late 19th to early 20th centuries does the V&A hold?


Context: The sculpture collection at the V&A is the most comprehensive holding of post-classical European sculpture in the world. There are approximately 22,000 objects in the collection that cover the period from about 400 AD to 1914. This covers among other periods Byzantine and Anglo Saxon ivory sculptures, British, French and Spanish medieval statues and carvings, the Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Victorian and Art Nouveau periods. All uses of sculpture are represented, from tomb and memorial, to portrait, allegorical, religious, mythical, statues for gardens including fountains, as well as architectural decorations. Materials used include, marble, alabaster, stone, terracotta, wood (history of wood carving), ivory, gesso, plaster, bronze, lead and ceramics.

Question: The V&A has the world's most comprehensive collection of sculptures from which period?

Question: Approximately how many objects are in the V&A sculpture collection?

Question: Which time period does the sculpture collection cover?

Question: Which uses of sculpture are represented in the collection?


Context: The collection of Italian, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical sculpture (both original and in cast form) is unequalled outside of Italy. It includes Canova's The Three Graces, which the museum jointly owns with National Galleries of Scotland. Italian sculptors whose work is held by the museum include: Bartolomeo Bon, Bartolomeo Bellano, Luca della Robbia, Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Agostino di Duccio, Andrea Riccio, Antonio Rossellino, Andrea del Verrocchio, Antonio Lombardo, Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi, Andrea della Robbia, Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, Michelangelo (represented by a freehand wax model and casts of his most famous sculptures), Jacopo Sansovino, Alessandro Algardi, Antonio Calcagni, Benvenuto Cellini (Medusa's head dated c. 1547), Agostino Busti, Bartolomeo Ammannati, Giacomo della Porta, Giambologna (Samson Slaying a Philistine (Giambologna) c. 1562, his finest work outside Italy), Bernini (Neptune and Triton c. 1622–3), Giovanni Battista Foggini, Vincenzo Foggini (Samson and the Philistines), Massimiliano Soldani Benzi, Antonio Corradini, Andrea Brustolon, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Innocenzo Spinazzi, Canova, Carlo Marochetti and Raffaelle Monti. An unusual sculpture is the ancient Roman statue of Narcissus restored by Valerio Cioli c1564 with plaster. There are several small scale bronzes by Donatello, Alessandro Vittoria, Tiziano Aspetti and Francesco Fanelli in the collection. The largest item from Italy is the Chancel Chapel from Santa Chiara Florence dated 1493–1500, designed by Giuliano da Sangallo it is 11.1 metres in height by 5.4 metres square, it includes a grand sculpted tabernacle by Antonio Rossellino and coloured terracotta decoration.

Question: With which museum does the V&A co-owns Canova's The Three Graces?

Question: Which c1622-23 sculpture by Bernini are included in the sculpture collection?

Question: What is the largest item from Italy that is part of the sculpture collection?

Question: Who designed the largest item from Italy that is part of the V&A sculpture collection?

Question: To which period is the largest item from Italy that is included in the sculpture collection dated?


Context: Rodin is represented by more than 20 works in the museum collection, making it one of the largest collections of the sculptor's work outside France; these were given to the museum by the sculptor in 1914, as acknowledgement of Britain's support of France in World War I, although the statue of St John the Baptist had been purchased in 1902 by public subscription. Other French sculptors with work in the collection are Hubert Le Sueur, François Girardon, Michel Clodion, Jean-Antoine Houdon, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and Jules Dalou.

Question: Approximately how many works by Rodin are part of the museum collection?

Question: Who donated Rodin's works to the V&A?

Question: In which year were Rodin's works given to the V&A?

Question: Britain's support of France in which war led to Rodin donating many of his sculptures to the V&A?

Question: Which sculpture by Rodin was not donated by the artist?


Context: Sculptors both British and Europeans who were based in Britain and whose work is in the collection include Nicholas Stone, Caius Gabriel Cibber, Grinling Gibbons, John Michael Rysbrack, Louis-François Roubiliac, Peter Scheemakers, Sir Henry Cheere, Agostino Carlini, Thomas Banks, Joseph Nollekens, Joseph Wilton, John Flaxman, Sir Francis Chantrey, John Gibson, Edward Hodges Baily, Lord Leighton, Alfred Stevens, Thomas Brock, Alfred Gilbert, George Frampton, and Eric Gill. A sample of some of these sculptors' work is on display in the British Galleries.

Question: Which British sculptor and a leading member of the New Sculpture movement is represented in the the V&A collection?

Question: Which British sculptor whose work include the Queen Victoria memorial in front of Buckingham Palace is included in the V&A collection?

Question: Which English sculptor who became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain is represented in the V&A collection?

Question: What sort of continental sculptors are represented in the British Galleries of the V&A?


Context: With the opening of the Dorothy and Michael Hintze sculpture galleries in 2006 it was decided to extend the chronology of the works on display up to 1950; this has involved loans by other museums, including Tate Britain, so works by Henry Moore and Jacob Epstein along with other of their contemporaries are now on view. These galleries concentrate on works dated 1600 to 1950 by British sculptors, works by continental sculptors who worked in Britain, and works bought by British patrons from the continental sculptors, such as Canova's Theseus and the Minotaur. The galleries overlooking the garden are arranged by theme, tomb sculpture, portraiture, garden sculpture and mythology. Then there is a section that covers late 19th-century and early 20th-century sculpture, this includes work by Rodin and other French sculptors such as Dalou who spent several years in Britain where he taught sculpture.

Question: Who were the sculpture galleries that opened in 2006 named after?

Question: To which year does the new sculpture galleries now encompass?

Question: How are the galleries overlooking the garden arranged?

Question: Which two British sculptors are now represented with the opening of the new galleries?

Question: Which museum was among those that loaned more modern works for the new sculpture galleries?


Context: The collection of textiles consists of more than 53,000 examples, mainly western European though all populated continents are represented, dating from the 1st century AD to the present, this is the largest such collection in the world. Techniques represented include weaving, printing, quilting embroidery, lace, tapestry and carpets. These are classified by technique, countries of origin and date of production. The collections are well represented in these areas: early silks from the Near East, lace, European tapestries and English medieval church embroidery.

Question: Approximately how many items are in the V&A's textiles collection?

Question: Which continents are represented in the V&A's textiles collection?

Question: What is the time period represented in the museum's textiles collection?

Question: Which region is represented the most in the textiles collection?

Question: Besides countries of origin and date of production, how are the textiles classified?