It’s not every day that you get to see one of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust guitars. Still rarer to see one that has never been put on display before. But that’s exactly what we’re doing at the V&A Storehouse.
The guitar, part of the 90,000-strong collection of Bowie items housed in the warehouse’s vaults, has been whisked up from storage and deposited in the glass-panelled room we’re currently standing in. One string has broken, the case is battered. Clearly, it’s been well-used; one gets the rather haunting impression that it’s just waiting for the singer to pick it up again. Though we’re not allowed to touch it (the curator handles the case with carefully gloved hands), leaning in close to examine the battered varnish still elicits a thrill.
