Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
It is the first Turkish museum that collectively covers works of Turkish and Islamic art.The museum, which was established in 1914 under the name of Evkaf-ı İslamiye Museum, in the Imaret section of the Süleymaniye Complex, is also the last museum opened during the Ottoman Empire. After the declaration of the Republic, it was named Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum; In 1983, it was moved to the İbrahim Pasha Palace, where it is located today.
The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts is one of the world's leading museums in its field, with nearly 40 thousand artifacts and rare artifacts. The museum, where the artistic products of many civilizations established in Turkish and Islamic geography are exhibited, has a wealth of works that cover a time period extending chronologically from the early Islamic period to the last century of the Ottoman Empire.
Some Precious Artifacts Exhibited in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
Damascus Papers (Early Islamic Period)
In 1907, a fire broke out in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the historical archive kept in the treasury section of the mosque was damaged. For this reason, the works in question were brought to the capital Istanbul from Damascus, which was within the Ottoman borders at that time, in 1917, under the supervision of a delegation headed by İsmet Bey, a member of the board of directors of the Evkaf-ı İslamiye Museum, to be protected. This collection, named "Damascus Papers" because it was brought to the museum from the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, contains more than 200,000 Quran leaves, archive documents and volumes recorded in 13882 items.
Most of the works in the collection are from the Early Islamic Period; It consists of Quranic pages from the Umayyad and Abbasid Periods, dating back to the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries. These pages are illuminated or unilluminated examples written in Kufic calligraphy on gazelle skin.
Among the works in the collection, there are pages from the Quran written in Hijazi script, dated to the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century, and these are considered to be the earliest examples of the Holy Quran. In addition, the wooden frame binding examples from the 9th and 10th centuries in the collection are considered to be the earliest binding examples of Islamic book arts.
Cizre Ulu Mosque Door Wings and Knocker (Artuklu Period, 13th Century)
The door, which is covered with bronze plates on a wooden frame, has three medallions arranged one under the other on both wings, with a twelve-pointed star in the center. The half and quarter medallions on the outer edges of the door give the impression that this geometric composition extends to infinity.
The inscription in thuluth calligraphy, made of bronze relief on the wings, reads "May God give strength to Ebul Kasım Mahmud Sencer Shah." In the manuscript with miniatures called "Automata" written in 1206 by Cezerî, who worked in the service of the Artuqid Palace in Diyarbakır, there is a drawing of a giant door designed by him. It is estimated that the door was made according to this example.
The museum also includes one of the identical knockers on the double-winged door of the Cizre Ulu Mosque. The other was stolen in 1969 and is now in the David Samling Museum in Copenhagen.The mallet was made by casting and decorated with the engraving technique. It consists of a composition of two dragons and a lion head in the middle. The dragons of the mallet have pointed ears, almond eyes and wings. While their bodies, covered with snake scales, are knotted in the form of a spiral, the ends of their intertwined tails end in the shape of an eagle's head. It is estimated that the mallets were designed according to Cezerî's drawings.
Double Column (Ayyubid Period, 13th Century)
The work, which is a rare example of its period, was brought to the museum from Damascus in 1914.Two sides of the wooden pillars with square prism bodies were processed using the deep carving technique and divided into rectangular panels. In the 16-line text, eight of which are written in floral Kufic calligraphy on the processed surfaces, there are verses 96-98 of the Surah Maryam from the Holy Quran. and verse 285 of Surah Al-Baqara.
Although it is not known in which structure and for what purpose the wooden columns were used, it is thought that they were used as an architectural part of a religious building due to the verses of the Holy Quran on them.
Hanging Incense Burner (Great Seljuk Period, Afghanistan, Late 12th Century - Early 13th Century)
A similar work of this work is exhibited in the Berlin Museum of Islamic Art.The incense burner is made of brass using the hollow casting technique. Although its body resembles that of a pigeon, the bird's beak resembles the beak of birds of prey. The bird form that forms the censer has a worm-shaped curved handle between its beak and chest and a ring around its neck for hanging.
Hanging Lamp (Mamluk Period, Second Half of the 14th Century)
It was brought to the museum from Eskişehir Şücaeddin-i Veli Tomb in 1911.It was made in forging technique and decorated with engraving and perforated technique. The body is octahedral, narrowing upwards, and has a crowned dome and a knotted hanger. It has nine lamp holders hanging down from its base. Its cover has two wings. The body is surrounded by inscription bands at the top and bottom, between meander motif borders. Thanks to the openwork decorations on the body, the light of the oil lamp burning inside filters out.
Silver Incense Burner (Ottoman Period)
It has the date 1033 (1624) with the inscription "Sultan Osman's maid (nanny) Havva Kadın" on it.A three-legged round tray made with the casting technique was placed in the middle; Its cypress-shaped cover is attached to the firebox with hinges and chains. The cover part is created with the perforation technique.
The cypress form and the cypress motifs on it were made based on the principle of imitating nature, in accordance with the understanding of Islamic art. Cypress tree is a tree believed to be protective and brings good luck.
Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul