National Museum of Decorative Arts, Decorative arts museum in Retiro, Spain.
The National Museum of Decorative Arts occupies a 19th-century palace with five floors and approximately sixty exhibition rooms displaying thousands of decorative objects. The collection holds around 30,000 works spanning from ancient times to the present day, showcasing comprehensive examples of artistic design applied to everyday items.
The museum was founded following the model of London's Victoria and Albert Museum to preserve and exhibit Spanish decorative arts across all time periods. Its establishment reflects the growing 19th-century European interest in documenting artistic craftsmanship and design through institutional collections.
The collection displays furniture, ceramics, and ornamental pieces that reflect Spanish craftsmanship traditions across many periods. Visitors can see how these hand-crafted items changed in form and decoration through the centuries.
Visitors should know that the rooms are spread across multiple floors and comfortable shoes are recommended for exploring. Plan to spend enough time walking through the various exhibition spaces, as the collection is extensive and offers much to see.
The museum houses a fully reconstructed kitchen from the 18th century from Valencia with approximately 1,500 original decorative tiles still intact on the walls. This rare example of a complete historical room shows how Spanish households and their artistic furnishings actually looked.
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