2000 Exhibition Year

Palace of Gold & Light:
Treasures from the Topkapi, Istanbul

3/1/2000 to 6/15/2000

Palace of Gold & Light: Treasures from the Topkapi, Istanbul features rare art and artifacts from the royal home of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th century. Many objects in the exhibition have never before left the Palace, and highlights include the famous emerald and diamond adorned Topkapi dagger as well as an exquisite 16th-century throne made from ebony, ivory, and mother-of-pearl.

Palace of Gold & Light: Treasures from the Topkapi, Istanbul includes more than 200 objects on loan primarily from the Topkapi Palace Museum. These objects represent the extraordinary artistic achievements and blending of cultural aesthetics that occurred during the Ottoman Empire. The exhibition will also explore the powerful roles of the sultan in Ottoman society as absolute monarch, supreme religious leader, military strategist, and royal patron of art and education.

Exhibition Highlights Featured in the exhibition is the Topkapi dagger, made famous by the popular 1964 Jules Dassin film “Topkapi.” Originally crafted before 1747 as a gift from the Sultan to the Iranian Nadir Shah, the dagger never reached its intended recipient, who was killed in an uprising before the Ottoman emissary crossed the border into Iran. The dagger, which was returned to the Topkapi treasury and has remained there ever since, features three unusually large emeralds in its handle, with an eight-sided emerald cover at its top concealing a small watch. Along both sides of the handle are rows of diamonds, and the back of the handle is covered in mother-of-pearl and enamel.

Also on view is one of the Palace’s great treasures, a 16th-century ebony and ivory throne, thought to be used by Sultan Süleyman I (reigned 1520 – 1566) on his many travels to Asia and Europe. Inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the throne was used by the Sultan when receiving high court officials and foreign ambassadors. Other highlights include rich Ottoman textiles and silk royal robes; jewel-encrusted ceremonial objects; intricately designed wool and silk carpets from imperial looms; finely crafted armor and weaponry; Chinese porcelains; musical instruments; illuminated religious and literary manuscripts; and bejeweled domestic objects.

Curator :: Jacquelyn Days Serwer