Meşher’s third exhibition, Preserving the Past: A Selection from the Sadberk Hanım Museum, offers visitors a journey through the history of Anatolian civilizations with 210 exceptional artifacts selected from the collections of the museum which contain more than 19,000 objects.

With an aim to familiarize a wider audience with the cultural accumulation of the Sadberk Hanım Museum, one of the cultural initiatives of the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV), that has come into being in almost five decades, the selected 210 objects will be on show at Meşher on Istiklal Street. Each artifact sheds light on its respective period and altogether they contribute to a collective story beginning from the 6th millennium BC going up to the 20th century and into the future.

Hülya Bilgi, the curator of the exhibition and the director of the Sadberk Hanım Museum says: “The Sadberk Hanım Museum has a pioneering role for private museums in Turkey. Ever since its inception in 1980, it has spent the best efforts to develop and exhibit its collections with a certain discipline while promoting them with publications and preserving them in the best conditions for future generations. This exhibition organized at Meşher, in the heart of Istanbul, in celebration of our museum’s 40th anniversary, will take visitors on a journey of many millennia with remarkable artifacts of Anatolian civilizations and exquisite examples of Ottoman art that stand to prove the rich and diverse collection of the museum.”

An online event program is planned by Meşher and the Sadberk Hanım Museum in parallel with the exhibition. Seminars, workshops and events for children will be realized on digital platforms due to health precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event calendar can be checked through Meşher’s website, newsletters and social media accounts.

Hosting a rich selection from the Sadberk Hanım Museum, Meşher offers visitors a journey through millennia with its new exhibition.

A passionate collector: Sadberk Koç
One of Sadberk Koç’s greatest desires was for her collection, which reflected her passion for needlework and crafts, to be shown in a museum named after her. After her passing away, her husband Vehbi Koç and her children expended great efforts to make her wish come true. Particularly Sevgi Gönül assumed the duty of realizing her mother’s wish for a museum in the name of the Koç family and after the foundation period, carried out her duties as Chairperson of Sadberk Hanım Museum’s Executive Committee until her death in 2003. The handcrafts Sadberk Koç collected and preserved with much dedication formed the core of the museum founded in 1980. What started as a taste for historical crafts for her, in time, turned into a discerning and meticulous collecting activity which she also passed on to her family.

A vast body of cultural history in Sarıyer
The family decided to convert the Azaryan Waterside Mansion purchased by the Koç family as a summer residence in 1950 into a museum. The restoration project by the architect Sedat Hakkı Eldem was carried out between 1978 and 1980 and the building was opened on October 14, 1980 as the Sadberk Hanım Museum. It was the first private museum in Turkey. The museum has an international reputation among worldwide collections thanks to the quality of its Iznik tiles and ceramics as well as women’s costumes and embroideries of the Ottoman era. With archaeological and early Islamic artifacts to the most exquisite examples of Ottoman art, including calligraphy and silk fabrics, the Sadberk Hanım Museum proudly carries this cultural heritage into the future.

Exhibition publication
The exhibition catalog with texts by Sadberk Hanım Museum’s Director Hülya Bilgi and archaeologist G. Senem Özden Gerçeker is published in Turkish and English in two separate volumes.

Meşher
An initiative of the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV), Meşher was conceived as an exhibition space that would organize comprehensive exhibitions on topics ranging from contemporary art to historical themes, as well as a variety of events such as workshops and conferences. The name Meşher means “exhibition space” in Ottoman Turkish, and the institution aims to provide an inspiring platform of dialog across time and cultures and has been welcoming visitors since its inauguration in September 2019. With an exhibition area of 900 sqm on three floors and an additional 100-sqm activity area dedicated to events, Meşher will continue to contribute to the arts and culture scene through exhibitions, organizing various programs on a wide range of subjects both historical and contemporary and act as a reference point with its research-oriented academic stance and publications. Located on Istiklal Street, Meşher’s exhibition, event and guided tours are free of charge.


Press kit
You can download the press kit which includes the press release and high-resolution images of the selected works from www.mesher.org/press.


Visiting information
Tuesday–Sunday 11.00–19.00
Free admission

Information on public health measures in effect at Meşher and visiting hours can be obtained via www.mesher.org

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