First exhibition of its kind, with over 200 objects from the V&A and loans to tell the story of the city of Constantinople and Istanbul across two empires.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires opens at the Victoria and Albert Museum on Saturday 7 November, and it's a UK first: the first exhibition to tell the story of the city in full. It runs until 9 May 2027, so there's plenty of time to fit it in over the winter. The city was the imperial and religious capital of two successive empires, the Byzantine (AD 330-1453) and the Ottoman (1453-1922), and the show follows the changes in patronage and production that reflect its history and the lasting impact its output had on the Christian and Islamic worlds.
There are over 200 objects across four sections: Roman Beginnings, Heaven and Earth, Power and Reach and Life in the City. The V&A is drawing on its own collection alongside national and international loans, including rarely seen objects dating back to the 4th century. You'll see fine silks and textiles, ceramic tiles, mosaics, tableware, precious metalwork, jewellery, sculpture, manuscripts and paintings. Among them are a 10th-century Byzantine Veroli Casket, an 11th-century Enkolpion of Constantinos, a 17th-century Ottoman processional scroll, a long-necked lute (tambur) from about 1750, and a Byzantine icon of the martyred abbess St Eudokia. There's a 16th-century kaftan probably worn by Sultan Selim II, blue and white glazed tiles and mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden foot supports from a women's hamam, a sixth-century mosaic from Constantine's Great Palace, Gentile Bellini's portrait of Sultan Mehmed II from 1480, and work by Osman Hamdi Bey from 1887.
The final section traces that influence on 19th-century Europe, including work by William Morris. Hagia Sophia, consecrated in 537 AD and turned into a mosque by the Ottomans, also features: it was a museum from 1935 to 2020 and is now again a mosque.
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You'll find it at V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL, in Galleries 38 and 39. Tickets are £25.00 on weekdays and £27.00 on weekends, with concessions available, and advance booking is recommended.
