Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death in 1901, and from 1876 also Empress of India. Her reign of more than sixty-three years was one of the longest in British history and gave its name to the Victorian era, a period of industrial expansion, empire and profound change in taste and design.
The Victorian period saw a succession of revival styles in furniture and the decorative arts, including Gothic, Elizabethan, Rococo and Renaissance revivals, followed by the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements. Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were enthusiastic patrons of the arts and industry, and Albert was the driving force behind the Great Exhibition of 1851. Royal residences such as Osborne House and Balmoral were furnished in distinctive styles that influenced fashion. Victoria herself is the subject of a vast range of commemorative items, from coronation and jubilee ceramics, glass and metalwork to busts, prints and textiles, with her Golden and Diamond Jubilees of 1887 and 1897 producing the largest quantities. Collectors value pieces with clear dates, good printing and condition, and items connected directly with the royal household are particularly prized.
