09.03 – 14.07.2013
Experience the majesty of
the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I to Ivan the Terrible and the
early Romanovs in a major exhibition at the V&A. From royal
portraits, costume and jewellery to armour and heraldry, Treasures of
the Royal Courts tells the story of diplomacy between the British
Monarchy and the Russian Tsars through more than 150 magnificent
objects.
A rarely-shown painting of
Elizabeth I, Shakespeare's First Folio, a suit of armour tailor-made
for Henry VIII and the legendary ruby-studded Drake Star reveal the
spectacular world of kings, queens, merchants and courtiers from 1509
to 1685. At the heart of the exhibition is the beautiful English and
French silver given to the Tsars by the British royal family, on
exclusive loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museums in celebration of 500
years of Anglo-Russian exchange.