The Facts
The V&A's 'Constantinople to Istanbul' exhibition opens November 7, 2026, at V&A South Kensington, spanning AD 330 to 1922 with over 200 objects from the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Key loans include 6th-century mosaics from the Great Palace of Byzantine emperors (first time outside Istanbul since 1935), a 16th-century silk kaftan worn by Sultan Selim II from Topkapı Palace, and the 13th-century Pallium of St Lawrence textile from Genoa (first time outside Italy). The exhibition is divided into four sections and includes loans from major museums in Istanbul, the Vatican, Venice, Athens, and the UK. It is presented with Koç Holding and supported by the Huo Family Foundation.
The Signal
By juxtaposing Byzantine and Ottoman art, the exhibition highlights the city's continuous role as an imperial capital and cultural bridge between East and West. The rare loans—many never before exhibited abroad—offer unprecedented access to objects that illuminate the artistic and political alliances shaping the Mediterranean. For the art world, the show reinforces the V&A's commitment to global art history and the value of cross-cultural narratives in museum programming.
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- Artists: Gentile Bellini, Osman Hamdi Bey, Owen Jones, William Morris
- People: Tim Stanley, Bella Radenović, Sultan Selim II, Sultan Mehmed II, Michael VIII Palaiologos, Constantine the Great
- Museums: Victoria and Albert Museum, Istanbul Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, Topkapı Palace Museum, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Sadberk Hanım Museum, Vatican Museums, Benaki Museum, Treasury of San Marco, British Museum, British Library, National Gallery, London, Wyvern Collection, Lincoln College, Oxford, John Rylands Library, Yapı Kredi Collection, Museo Saint'Agostino
- Locations: London
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