Medieval mind-blowers



There's big, and then there are the staggeringly big new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. These 10 galleries would be a museum in their own right in any other city on earth, with more than 2,000 exhibits filling their beautifully designed spaces. On one wall alone hangs the entire front elevation of Sir Paul Pindar's house, a surviving Tudor building from the Great Fire of London in 1666. Walk around the corner, and there's not just an altar from a 16th-century Italian village but the entire chapel from Santa Chiara, in Florence. The scale, the ambition, is simply incredible.

Opened in December after a seven-year, £30m refit, the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries are an absolute triumph, throwing light on what have been inaccurately called the Dark Ages. Not that the V&A's curators would ever call a period beginning with the fall of the Roman empire and ending at the High Renaissance in 1600 by such a historically dubious term. One of its main aims is to change people's perception of medieval times as a cesspit of plague, war and poverty.

And these exhibits - almost all beautifully presented and explained - highlight the exact opposite: it was also a period of blazing colour, of gold, jewels, tapestries. Of classic architecture, stunning sculpture and intricate furniture. The real triumph is that all of the objects feel real and relevant, rather than dusty museum pieces. The largest gallery actually takes on the appearance and atmosphere of a great courtyard in a renaissance palazzo. There are fountains, sculptures and a huge choir screen. Natural light pours in and, from a balcony above, you can gaze out on what the museum calls The Renaissance City. Even that balcony is from a renaissance palace: you almost expect Romeo to be below, serenading visitors.

But the new galleries also succeed in making stars of the smaller exhibits, too. In a special case is one tiny notebook which, up to this point, has been so precious it has never been publicly shown. But now everyone can see one of the five Leonardo da Vinci notebooks owned by the V&A, full of his scrawling, tiny handwriting. Next to it is a touchscreen so that grubby fingers can turn pages mere mortals cannot touch.

Just metres away sits The Luck of Edenhall. The story of this precious enamelled glass beaker is miraculous: made in Syria in the 13th century, it is thought to have been brought back to Europe as an exotic trophy by a crusader. Centuries later it was revered as a cup left behind by fairies disturbed while drinking at the Garden of Edenhall. One screamed: "If this cup should break or fall, Farewell the Luck of Edenhall." And so it was guarded more carefully than life itself.

The galleries are full of these romantic stories, and while you can stomp through centuries in an afternoon, you could just as easily spend an entire day marvelling at the biggest and best collection of Italian renaissance sculpture outside Italy. Gradually, though, a picture builds: of a time and culture that wasn't so far removed from our own after all. In that context, a huge facade of a house is just as important as a notebook or a gilded spoon: they all tell linked stories. They have religious significance, they are status symbols, they highlight the point that the inquisitive - and perhaps acquisitive - nature of man is timeless.

The exhibits may be on display in London, but somehow the galleries stand apart from England's capital. They're truly a space for and about our world, and where we've come from. And when you get home and eat dinner on a table made from flatpack furniture, using dull cutlery from a supermarket, you have to wonder: has it all been progress?

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Install an air filter in your home.

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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The biog

Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show

Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can

Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home

Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.

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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
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Match info

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Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)

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Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

Profile

Company name: Jaib

Started: January 2018

Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour

Based: Jordan

Sector: FinTech

Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018

Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers