A major UK-first exhibition with more than 200 objects exploring 1,600 years of art, design and architecture from Constantinople and Istanbul.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires opens at the V&A South Kensington on Saturday 7 November 2026, and it's a UK first. It's a big one, too: more than 200 objects across Galleries 38 and 39, tracing 1,600 years of art, design and architecture in the city that was Constantinople and is now Istanbul. The exhibition runs from AD 330 to 1922, following the city through two successive empires — the Byzantine (AD 330–1453) and the Ottoman (1453–1922) — and the shifts in patronage and production that came with them.
The show is split into four sections: 'Roman Beginnings', 'Heaven and Earth', 'Power and Reach' and 'Life in the City'. Together they map the city's output and its lasting impact on both the Christian and Islamic worlds, and they close with how Byzantine and Ottoman art filtered into 19th-century Europe, including work by William Morris.
There's a lot to see. Among the highlights are the Veroli Casket, a Byzantine piece from the second half of the 10th century with mythological scenes; an 11th-century Byzantine enkolpion of Constantinos, proedros; and a 17th-century Ottoman processional scroll. You'll also find a long-necked lute, a tambur, from around 1750; Osman Hamdi Bey's Ladies Taking a Walk (1887); and Gaspare Fossati's hand-coloured lithograph Aya Sofia Constantinople (1852). It's a long stretch of time to cover in one go, and the range of objects reflects that.
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It opens on 7 November and runs until 9 May 2027, so you've plenty of time to fit it in. Tickets are £25 on weekdays and £27 on weekends, with concessions available, and advance booking is recommended. It's at the V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL, in Galleries 38 and 39.
