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23 novembre 2004

"Turks : A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600" will open at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on January 22nd 2005. It will be devoted to exploring and introducing the artistic and cultural riches of Turkish-speaking people. Objects representing the achievements of Turkic people in history and their cultures from the eastern border of modern China to the Balkans in the west, will be displayed at this exhibition including textiles, paintings, calligraphy, carpets, sculptures, book illustration, woodwork, metal work, and unique ceramics. The exhibition will run for three months with over 370 invaluable works of art, chosen mainly from the collections of the Topkapi Palace Museum and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in Istanbul besides 37 private collections of various individuals and institutions from 11 countries, many of which have never been exhibited before outside of Istanbul.The curators of the exhibition "Turks : A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600-1600" will be Topkapi Palace Museum Director Dr. Filiz Cagman, Sakip Sabanci Museum Director and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Former Director Dr. Nazan Olcer, an Islamic Arts Professor David Roxburgh of Harvard University, Undersecretary for Exhibitions Norman Rosenthal, and Exhibition Curator of Royal Academy of Arts Adrian Locke. The exhibition will take place by logistic and planning support of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV). It is also the first exhibition similar in size with the "International Exhibition of Persian Art" in 1931, which was a great one highly appreciated and praised by prominent critics, an a continuation of Academy’s annual exhibitions titled "Africa : The Art of a Continent" (1995) and "Aztecs" (2000) presented in the recent years.The exhibition will provide a thorough and meticulous presentation of over a thousand-year culture of Turkic people spread through distinct geographical regions and shed light on the great riches of the period. The journey will start with a collection of work of arts belonging Uighur era, continue with samples of Great Seljuk and Anatolian Seljuk eras in Iran, and includes samples peculiar to Iranian and the Central Asian Turkmen under the reign of Timurlenk. These will be followed by Ottoman works of art unique to reigns of Sultans Mehmed II the Conqueror, his son Bayazid II (1481-1512) and his grandson Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim) (1512-1520). Furthermore, within the framework of the exhibition a slide-show of Turkish architecture with authentic samples of different eras will be shown to the guests in the entrance gallery of the Royal Academy of Arts. A catalogue of colored illustrations of works will accompany the exhibition, including writings by curators of the exhibition and internationally acclaimed experts on art from Turkey, Germany, the United States and Great Britain. Several activities will be held during the exhibition from workshops to gallery talks catering to audiences of all ages. During the exhibition, conferences will also be held with the attendance of prominent academics from Turkey and around the world.