The Tallest Bed In the V&A 🛏️ Commissioned around 1698 by George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville, this opulent state bed once stood in the State Bedroom of Melville House, Fife. Likely designed by Daniel Marot and upholstered in London by Francis Lapiere, the bed marked the union of the Melville and Leven, two powerful Scottish titles and symbolised Melville'sMelville's influential role as William III's representative in Scotland. Draped in crimson velvet and set among richly detailed tapestries, it reflected the Dutch-influenced court style of the time. Described as "very noble" in 1723, the bed remained at Melville House until 1949, when it was gifted to the V&A, where it now stands as a rare survivor of late 17th-century Anglo-Dutch courtly design. The crimson velvet would have been imported from Italy, while the ivory white silk damask came from China. The trimmings would have been ordered from specialist makers in London or on the Continent. The upholsterer's team would also supply and install the wooden frame, hemp cord, iron brackets, and mattresses. The upholsterer himself might have gone to Scotland for such a prestigious commission. The State Bed from Melville House, Fife, Scotland. Oak and pine upholstered in crimson Genoa velvet and white Chinese silk damask embroidered with crimson silk braid. Visit the V&A South Kensington, British Galleries, Room 54a, to see The Melville Bed on display. Image Description- Oak state bed with silk damask posts, crimson velvet canopy, embroidered coverlet, and ornate coronets, symbolising the noble status of the 1st Earl of Melville. (fb)

Between sea and sky at twilight.   Tom Fecht’s ‘Luciferines - entre chien et loup’ transforms fleeting light into a meditation on beauty, fragility and change. Tom shares how he used traditional analogue photographic techniques to capture his beautifully abstract images of bioluminescent plankton on the wild Atlantic coast of Brittany at the ‘Entre chien et loup’ (Between Dog and Wolf) – the twilight moment when the first rays of daylight meet the final reflections of the moon.   On display as part of Prix Pictet 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 at the V&A’s Photography Centre, South Kensington, this series reminds us how photography can give voice to urgent global stories - from climate to community, from chaos to hope.   On display until October 19. Free entry. Link in bio.   #PrixPictet #Photography #PhotographyExhibition   @prixpictet @tom_fecht (fb)