The V&A has been collecting furniture and woodwork for over 150 years. This diverse collection is unrivalled for breadth and quality, spanning over six centuries of British and international furniture production – from Japanese lacquer and furniture from the 1851 Great Exhibition, to innovative contemporary design.

Examples from East Asia, South Asia and the Islamic Middle East sit alongside more than 14,000 pieces made in the West, from moveable furniture and clocks to musical instruments, plastic and leatherwork, and fragments of architectural woodwork both large and small.

Highlights include the Great Bed of Ware (about 1590), Ranjit Singh's golden throne (1820 – 30) and the magnificent carved and gilded interior of the Norfolk House Music Room (1748 – 1756).