14e CONGRÈS INTERNATIONAL D'ART TURC | 2011

HISTOIRE DE L'ART / ART HISTORY

PARIS, COLLÈGE DE FRANCE, 19-22 SEPTEMBRE 2011

Le 14e congrès international d'art turc s'est déroulé pour la première fois à Paris, du 19 au 21 septembre 2011. Sans être exhaustif, nous tenons à dresser le bilan de ces trois journées.

En 2007, lors du 13e congrès international d'art turc qui s'est tenu à Budapest, la ville de Paris a été retenue par le comité international pour accueillir le prochain congrès. L'initiative en revient à son président François Déroche, professeur à l'École Pratique des Hautes Études. Le lieu choisi s'imposa aussitôt, le Collège de France et ses magnifiques salles au centre de Paris. Il se justifiait aussi par le fait que le professeur Gilles Veinstein occupe la prestigieuse chaire d'histoire ottomane depuis 1999.

Dès le mois de mars 2010, une première circulaire a été envoyée via les réseaux internets (H-Net, H-Net Turk, H-Islamart, Diwan) pour annoncer le lieu et les dates du congrès, et demander aux participants d'envoyer leur résumer en anglais. Nous savions en effet que Paris, comme toutes grandes capitales, serait fortement plébiscitée. De fait, nous avons reçu 408 résumés.

La longue préparation de ce congrès nécessita deux grandes réunions en présence des comités, la première à Istanbul pour déterminer les thématiques (janvier 2010), la seconde à Ankara pour sélectionner les 180 résumés (septembre 2010). Il fallut ensuite chercher les financements. La situation n'était pas simple car la conjoncture économique européenne commençait a donner des signes de faiblesses; d'autre part, beaucoup de sociétés françaises et turques avaient déjà été largement sollicitées par la Saison de la Turquie en France (juillet 2009-mars 2010). Malgré leur accueil favorable, elles n'étaient pas prêtes à financer une nouvelle fois un événement mettant en avant la Turquie. Malgré de nombreux refus, nous avons réussi, tant bien que mal, à trouver des financements des institutions suivantes :

École Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE)
Fondation Hugo du Collège de France
Fondation Khora de l'Institut de France
École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
Chaire ottomane du Collège de France
Ministère de la culture et du tourisme de Turquie
Secteur privé
Cotisation des participants

La subvention de la Fondation Max van Berchem nous permit la prise en charge de 12 étudiants (transport, séjour, repas): 5 turcs (Hatice ADIGÜZEL, Gül KALE, Esra ÖSKAY, Kadriye ÖZBIYIK, Hatice ÖZKAYA) et 7 étrangers (Clara ALVAREZ DOPICO, Ahmed AMEEN FATOUH, Federica BROILO, Maximilian HARTMUTH, Adrienn PAPP, Aurel-Daniel STANICA, Ekaterina YAKUSHKINA).

Boursiers

Boursiers de la Fondation Max van Berchem

En plus de subsides, plusieurs institutions ont mis à notre disposition leurs espaces. C'est ainsi que la soirée du lundi 19 septembre a été organisée et prise en charge par S.E. Tahsin BURCUOGLU, ambassadeur de Turquie à Paris ; les membres de l'Institut de France, propriétaire du musée Jacquemart-André, ont mis à notre disposition le rez-de-chaussée du musée sous l'œil bienveillant de son conservateur Nicolas SAINT-FARE-GARNOT pour la soirée du 20 septembre. De son côté, Mme Béatrice SALMON, directrice des Arts décoratifs, a ouvert son musée ainsi que les salons boiseries des Arts décoratifs pour le cocktail. Bien entendu, en contrepartie, nous prenions en charge l'organisation des soirées, c'est-à-dire les frais de sécurité, l'assurance et les cocktails.

D'autres dépenses ont été prises en charge par divers organismes : le concert organisé sous la direction de Kudsi ERGUNER, l'un des plus célèbres joueurs de ney, en clôture du congrès (ministère de la culture et du tourisme de Turquie) ; les sacoches (sponsoring de l'agence de voyage Bey Tours) ; les visites des expositions à la Bibliothèque nationale de France ; la journée excursion pour 30 personnes aux châteaux d'Ecouen et de Chantilly (offerte par S. E. Gürcan TÜRKOGLU, ambassadeur permanent de Turquie auprès de l'UNESCO à Paris) ; les bouteilles de Champagne offertes par l'Union des anciens élèves des écoles françaises de Turquie.

Parallèlement au congrès, des institutions avaient programmées des manifestations :

- exposition du créateur de mode Hussein Chalayan aux Arts décoratifs ;

- exposition Enluminures en terre d'islam entre abstraction et figuration, Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). Mme Annie VERNAY-NOURI, conservateur des manuscrits orientaux à la BnF, proposa deux visites de l'exposition à l'issue du congrès.

Des acteurs privés ont également profités de l'événement pour organiser des expositions à travers Paris :

- Fikret Mualla. Colors'magic, La Petite Galerie, rue de Seine ;

- When the West wove the East : Turkish and Turkish inspired designs woven by the looms of Lyons, Manufacture Prelle, place des Victoires ;

- Autour de l'art Turc-Exhibition of Ottoman and Islamic Art, Galerie Alexis Renard, île Saint-Louis ;

- Présentation de livres sur les arts de l'Islam à la librairie la Compagnie ;

- Présentation de kilims à la Galerie La Steppe.

De grands collectionneurs d'art turc acceptèrent de présenter leurs collections dans les salons de la galerie Charpentier du groupe Sotheby's France. Ce dernier se chargea de financer l'exposition Turkophilia. L'art ottoman révélé dans les collections privées pendant quatre jours (19-22 septembre) et le cocktail du jeudi 22 septembre. La réalisation du catalogue et le transport ont été entièrement pris en charge par un collectionneur.

La matinée du lundi 19 septembre fut consacrée aux discours inauguraux dans le grand amphithéâtre Marguerite de Navarre du Collège de France. En l'absence du professeur Gilles VEINSTEIN, ce fut le professeur Henry LAURENS qui au nom du Collège de France accueillit les congressistes. Il rappela la place occupée par les langues orientales au sein de cette institution, en insistant sur la personnalité de Guillaume Postel (1510-1581), un des premiers «lecteurs royaux» au Collège Royal fondé par François Ier. Mr Ömer BOZOGLU, directeur du département des Beaux-Arts du ministère de la culture et du tourisme de Turquie, rappela ensuite les circonstances de la création de ce congrès et l'historique de son développement, au moment où ses derniers représentants, les professeurs Oleg GRABAR (1929-2011) et Ernst J. GRUBE (1932-2011), venaient de disparaître. Nathalie CLAYER, directrice du Centre des études turques, ottomanes, balkaniques et centrasiatiques de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, insista sur la place occupée par les études ottomanes en France. Les professeurs François DÉROCHE et Zeren TANINDI soulignèrent l'importance d'un tel congrès à une époque où les arts de l'Islam occupent une place de plus en plus notable sur la scène muséale mondiale. Dès 14 h, les participants se dispersaient dans les deux amphithéâtres et les quatre salles du Collège de France pour assister trois jours durant aux nombreuses conférences.

Participants

Participants du 14^e Congrès d'Art Turc

Le 14^e congrès international d'art turc fut une réussite. Tout d'abord, par le nombre de communications de qualité: 180 intervenants répartis dans 26 ateliers. Parmi les intervenants, on a noté une forte présence d'institutions turques, parmi les plus prestigieuses, comme le palais de Topkapi, le musée des Arts Turcs et islamiques, le palais de Dolmabahçe, les universités d'Istanbul (université Mimar Sinan, université de Marmara, université du Bosphore, université Sabanci, université Koç), d'Ankara (université Gazi, université Hacettepe) et des universitaires de nombreuses villes de Turquie (Izmir, Konya, Edirne, Mardin, etc.) ; les institutions étrangères telles que le Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin, The Textile Museum of Washington, Metropolitan of Art de New York, Rijksmuseum d'Amsterdam, The Wallace Collection, musée de l'Hermitage de Saint-Pétersbourg, musée Gruérien de Bulle (Suisse), musée du Louvre, musée Albert Kahn, cinémathèque Robert-Lynen, avaient de leur côté leurs représentants, tant universitaires, que conservateurs et chercheurs.

Le congrès international d'art turc a permis aux historiens d'art de se retrouver, de présenter leurs travaux, d'échanger, de faire un point sur les avancées les plus récentes dans le domaine des arts turcs. L'objectif de la rencontre était également de renforcer les liens entre institutions au moment où les arts de l'Islam en général, et les arts turcs en particulier, suscitent un intérêt croissant.

Ce congrès a également attiré de nombreux jeunes chercheurs, dont certains ont pu bénéficier d'un soutien de la fondation genevoise Max van Berchem. On constate ainsi un renouvellement de générations et un renforcement de la communauté scientifique au moment où les arts ottomans sont des sujets d'étude, non seulement de spécialistes, mais d'un public éclairé comme en témoigne le nombre croissant d'expositions organisées ces dernières années.

Les participants se sont quittés après avoir assisté au magnifique concert dirigé par Kudsi ERGUNER.

Les actes du colloque seront publiés à Ankara sous la direction de Frédéric HITZEL, chargé de recherche au CNRS.

Frédéric HITZEL
Chargé de recherche CNRS
Secrétaire du 14^e ICTA

Résumés des Conférences des boursiers de la Fondation Max van Berchem

ADIGÜZEL Hatice, Istanbul University, Turkey

A LOCAL INTERPRETATION OF WESTERNIZATION IN OTTOMANARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTATION: AL QUWATLI HOUSE IN DAMASCUS

By the 18^th century, the Western originated tastes began to emerge consistently, affected mostly architectural details and decoration programs than plan schemes in Ottoman Art. These influences connecting with local styles produced different approaching in Istanbul the Capital and in the other provinces dependent to the empire. The significant cities spreading in vast territories, interpreted the things they have seen in western cities which have commercial connections, with a local identity instead of the influences of Istanbul originated westernization. For example through the port cities of Anatolia such as Izmir or Trabzon, influences of western spread out into these cities and their surroundings. In a similar way, western originated details have started to be seen in Tunisia as early as in 17^th by the direct influences of Italy. In Syria, which was an Ottoman territory since the conquest of Yavuz Selim in 1517, until the World War I; Damascus Province kept its commercial importance with its position on the caravan routes coming from east reaching to Lebanon shores, hereby contacted directly with many European cities without intermediation of Istanbul.

In case of residential architecture, creativity goes forward more than religious or public buildings. Religious and public buildings generally reflect the central authority. However in residential buildings, local masters found quite sufficient by the employers. That is why creativity shaped by local tastes stands out in these houses. In Damascus, there can be seen many houses dated between 18^th and 19^th centuries built in local traditional style and sometimes blended with European influences.

In Damascus one of the important provincial centre of Ottoman Empire, Al Quwatli House placed in northwest of Umayyad Mosque, stands as a significant example for artistic interpretations of local masters combining western elements and traditional styles. Dated nearly end of the 18th century, the building used as residence by Ibrahim Pasa son of Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasa, and then used as English Consulate as seen on the maps prepared by Josias Porter in 1850’s. The house, expanding around a large courtyard and consisting with smaller courtyards with rooms each decorated in a different style ordered by a famous merchant of the period.

Usage of bi-colour stone as construction material refers to Mamluks, waving lines in arch and sliced details giving drape effect indicate European influences. Partly ruined waving eave detail can also be seen in baroque buildings in Istanbul or Filibe (Plovdiv) with a different approach. In the most richly decorated room of the house, there are oval windows applied in a quite different style than the Tomb of Naksidil Sultan or Alay Köskü in Istanbul, more intensive in a plane. Also reminding the local culture prefers prosperity and glory inside the house but not the outside, these oval windows transform to rectangular form at outer façade.

In reign of Abdülhamid I, landscape or architecture themed mural paintings have been used extensively in architecture. Al Quwatli House mural paintings depicting an imaginary Istanbul landscape made by local artists bring a different reinterpretation, especially regarding to usage of the ones in Kavafyan House where we see the earliest examples dated to 1750 or other widespread applications in Anatolia or Rumeli.

This communication summarized above, sampling Al Quwatli House will attempt to examine “Westernization” interpretations enriched with traditional details by local artists of Damascus and other provincial centres of Ottoman Empire comparatively.

ÁLVAREZ DOPICO Clara Ilham, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

CERAMIC TILES FROM TUNISIAN WORKSHOPS: THE FORMATION OF A TURKISH-ORIENTED ART VERSUS EUROPEAN INFLUENCES

Traditionally, every attempt towards a definition of Tunisian art has paid attention to Tunisian plastic arts from the Beylical period (XVII^th, XVIII^th and XIX^th centuries). Although its existence cannot be ignored, the idea of a Maghreb Turkish art proper has provoked more reticence than certainty. The peripheral location of this Ottoman Regency in relation to the metropolis as well as its late appearance seemed to delegate this provincial art to a second rate position. This, in turn, gave birth to a local approach to its study, alien to the general context of the art of the French Empire as a whole. The new, holistic approach which appeared in the 1990’s has imposed itself, thus rendering the previous genealogical view obsolete. Curiously, one of the most interesting Beylical artistic productions -that is to say, the ceramic tile panels from Tunisian Qallaline workshops, always considered the most important form of Turkish provincial art-, has not been studied from this perspective.

It is my aim to study the creative process of the Turkish language of ceramic tiles by means of paying attention to a particular -and outstanding- circumstance: the creation of a Turkish language versus European influences, especially Spanish, firmly established within the cultural atmosphere of the Ottoman Regency of Tunisia.

In fact, even if the metropolis is a constant reference for the arts belonging to the Regency period, when the Qallaline workshops open themselves to foreign influences, the adoption of Ottoman forms is not the only option possible. On the contrary, Tunisia imported ceramics from the Spanish east coast (Catalonian and Valencian workshops) throughout the XVII^th, XVIII^th and XIX^th centuries, when this ceramics constituted an immediate model. It is important to find out what value is given to these two artistic exponents that coincide on the same spot, since the co-existence of these two tendencies provides us with an element towards a definition of a Turkish-oriented Tunisian art.

The Turkish-oriented ceramics of Qallaline is the result of a choice: It is understood that the adoption of the ornamental patterns created in the XVIth century, which were considered valuable up to the XIX^th century, identifies itself with the artistic koinè of the Empire it belongs to. But this choice is even more significant because it strongly establishes itself versus a Western language also present in the arts of the Regency period.

On the other hand, one may wonder whether the stylistic synthesis always evoked by Tunisian ceramics really exists. This association, which may not be confirmed, still highlights the juxtaposition of two sets of models. Therefore, one may also wonder whether there is a hierarchy between these two forces.

The stylistic analysis of some ceramic tile panels from Tunisian workshops will not only enable us to determine whether they constitute an answer to Western artistic influences, but to understand the formation process of a Turkish-oriented Tunisian style and eventually to put forward an interpretation.

AMEEN FATOUH Ahmed, Fayoum University, Egypt

THE MEANING OF THE ARABIC DEDICATORY INSCRIPTIONS OF THE OTTOMAN MONUMENTS OF GREECE

The Ottoman presence in the present-day Greece began in November 1361 when the Ottomans took possession of Didymoteichon, the second important city conquered by the Ottomans in Europe after Gallipoli in 1354. As far as it concerns until the end of the 14^th c. the Ottomans conquered almost all cities of Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly. The Ottomans ruled the present-day Greek territories for periods almost ranging between three and five centuries. During these centuries, the Ottomans erected few towns, an enormous number of variant categories of establishments and buildings.

As far as it concerns the dedicatory inscriptions of the ottoman buildings of Greece, as declare the preserved ones from which, during the first two centuries namely until the second half of the 16^th c., have been written in Arabic with different script styles. Approximately from the second half of the 16^th c. onwards the language of the dedicatory inscriptions of the ottoman monuments has been changed into Turkish or the ottoman script, with rare exceptions.

Fortunately, about twelve, as far as I know, of these important Arabic dedicatory inscriptions of the ottoman monuments have been preserved in different cities of Greece. These inscriptions memorize diverse types of the ottoman structures – like mosques, complexes, citadels, as well as welfare foundations ... –, modifications or political events on the byzantine buildings. The oldest Arabic dedicatory inscription preserved, in its place above the entrance of the monument, in Greece is the one above the main entrance of the Bayezid Mosque (or the Great Mosque) of Didymoteichon, which is dated to Rabi Al-Awaal 823 A.H. / March 1420 A.D., and the most recent one is the inscription of the renovation of the mosque of Hamza Bey (Alkazar) in Thessaloniki which dated in 1028 A.H. / 1619 A.D., as one of the rare Arabic dedicatory inscriptions of Greece dated after the 16^th c.

This paper will shed light on these Arabic inscriptions in order to discuss two main topics: the first the meaning beyond the using of the Arabic language in the dedicatory inscriptions of the ottoman monuments of Greece and in the ottoman policy in this period and reasons of replacing the Arabic inscriptions with the ottoman ones later. The second topic is the context of these Arabic inscriptions which represent rich epigraphically material of historical events, titles, positions, different systems of dating, writing style and decorations.

BROILO Federica, Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey

COPIES AND ORIGINALS: VENETIAN IMITATIONS OF OTTOMAN POTTERY AND OTTOMAN POTTERY COLLECTIONS IN VENICE

Pottery is just one of the many Venetian arts in which noticeably Ottoman techniques and motifs can be observed. The Ottoman pottery at Iznik, ancient Nicaea, supplied the Ottoman court with luxurious vessels and splendid tiles to decorate newly founded palaces, mosques and other buildings. Iznik pottery was much prized outside the Ottoman Empire and especially in Northern Italy and Venice. The two Iznik patterns that late 16^th and early 17^th century Venetian potters imitated most closely were new, indicating that Italians particularly admired original elements of Ottoman ceramics. Specialist scholars of Ottoman Iznik pottery identify the second half of the 16th century as the height of its production. Venetians were among the very first outside the Ottoman sphere to value the amazing beauty and quality of this unique type of pottery. Indeed Venetian demand for it was such that local potters began imitating it in earnest.

One of the most interesting examples is the so-called Candian wares from the first half of the 17^th century, manufactured in Padua, of which, some examples are still existing in several collections such as in the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art of Padua. Pottery production was very widespread in Venice and in its Mainland. The Venetian street signs, silent custodians of ancient knowledge, are testimony through their place names of the presence of pottery workshops at the “Campiello degli Squellini” (pottery-making square), the “Calle delle Ole” and the “Calle della Fornace” (kiln street), each associated with crea (or clay), a word that is also the name of a still existing bridge in Cannaregio and stands for a place where clay, the raw material for the various objects, was stored.

Beyond the imitations, the Venetian collections host a number of gorgeous original pieces especially dating back after the battle of Lepanto. Some of the most interesting examples are exhibit at the Giorgio Franchetti Gallery at the Ca’ d’Oro, at the School of St. Rocco and at the Lazzaretto Nuovo and sometimes, despite their undoubtedly beauty, they are little-known to the public. It’s interesting to notice that Ottoman(ized?) pottery and wares appear also on paintings of that period. The aims of this paper is to shed light on the Venetian collections since both copies and originals need to regain their space in the history of the city in order to implement the knowledge of the economical and artistic relations between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

HARTMUTH Maximilian, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey

A PALACE IN THE OTTOMAN PROVINCE AND QUESTION OF THE DIDACTIC USE OF IMAGES IN THE ISLAMIC CONTEXT

My paper will address the yet only marginally explored visual strategies of provincial strongmen in a period of Ottoman rule habitually called “decentralization”. More concretely, I shall look at how buildings have been employed in staking claims for authority on a local level and beyond. Looking at extant examples in the empire’s western and eastern borderlands, it must be suggested that in the decades around 1800 style was more than ever dependent on the folly of the patron and the resources available to him locally.

My paper will discuss a palace built and decorated for an ambitious provincial strongman active in the pre-Tanzimat Balkans. Destroyed upon the overthrow of this usurper of central power, it is only from textual accounts that an idea about the palace can be gained. A rather unique feature must have been the use of images on its exterior: in the example discussed the «sovereign» and his offspring had themselves portrayed, visible to the public eye, as executors of justice and warlords, apparently making use of the power of the image as a didactic tool to communicate their claim to authority to their subjects. I will discuss this example in the broader historiographical context of the public use, or the lack thereof, of narrative imagery for ideological purposes in Islam.

KALE Gül, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

AN OTTOMAN BOOK ON ARCHITECTURE WITHIN A CROSS-CULTURAL CONTEXT: THE NATURE OF THEORETICAL WRITINGS IN RISALE-I MIMARIYYE IN RELATION TO RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURAL DISCOURSES

It has been generally suggested that there is no significant body of architectural texts from the Ottoman period. This assumption was often unchallenged by scholars, who claimed that architectural treatises before the eighteenth century were forms of scientific writings generating instrumental set of rules, as would be understood in the modern sense. Historians, who took this conjecture for granted as a criterion for Ottoman texts led to the reception of the only theoretical book on architecture from the Ottoman period, Risale-i Mimariyye by Cafer Efendi as an incoherent work. In order to have a deeper grasp of the Risale, firstly, measures on which it is estimated must undergo a reassessment. As recent scholarship on Renaissance architecture disclosed, a poetic language could present an architectural discourse as did dream narratives seen in the famous Renaissance text Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice, 1499). On the other hand, political narratives could engender an architectural theory as seen in Filarete’s Trattato d’architettura (1464). The genres of architectural writing are not homogenous, but transform through history. An appreciation of such shifting voices in architectural writing traditions allows us to read the Risale with an openness that reveals diverse motivations inherent in the text. Cafer Efendi struggles to define the grounds of architecture at a time when there was no well-established tradition of writing architectural books. On the other hand, the close relation of Ottomans with the Mediterranean world has led historians to speculate on the possible ways of the transmission of architectural knowledge within cultures. Yet, how such books, if ever reached to Ottoman lands, were evaluated by Ottomans need further interpretations. Whether Cafer Efendi had a chance to examine such works or not, the idea that architecture could be elevated to the status of theoretical sciences through writing a book starting with its geometrical grounds, might have been influential. In order to convey his intentions, he built upon various forms of literary traditions. Poems on buildings follow stories of saintly figures highly acclaimed by Ottomans while a chapter on the science of surveying used in the Ottoman laws of inheritance leads to cosmological significance of stones. While investigating the nature of the Risale as an architectural discourse and the cultural context that prompted its compilation, I will have a comparative look at the genres of Renaissance treatises to suggest ways to expand our understanding of cross-cultural intersection points in architectural writing traditions. Within this framework, I will argue that such a comparative approach reveals the unique nature of the Risale in the broader context of world architectural history and theory.

OSKAY Harika Esra, College of Art Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

ARTIST AS AN ETHNIC CURIOSITY: THE EXTENDED LINE OF ORIENTALISM

« …was Hamdi an unoriginal adherent of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), at whose studio in Paris he received his art training under the supervision of Gustave-Clarence-Rodolphe Boulanger, or were his paintings part of a strategy of resistance against European cultural and political hegemony, aimed at subverting stereotypes? » (Gülru Çakmak (2010). Recovering the Past Conference: Archeologists and Travelers in Ottoman Lands, http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/recoveringthepast/abstracts.html

In an age of transculturalism/multiculturalism, whichever you chose to define the era we are living, in a constant encounter with the different cultures that needs each of us to reorient our selves, the scene of visual arts has been affected by this encounter by all means. The response of the west-centric art scene to this situation -that has been blamed long for its hegemonic stance- has been exhibiting more non-western artists in its art institutions, which led to a new phase in exoticism, in orientalism.

As Jean Fisher elaborates on, the non-western artist should either highlight her/his ethnic identity, difference or do political work, in order to find a place for him/herself in the art scene (J. Fisher, The Syncretic Turn: Cross-Cultural Practices in the Age of Multiculturalism. Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985, Zoya Kocur & Simon Leung (ed), Willey-Blackwell Publishing 2004, p. 236), which might end up in reductionist, exoticist view of the individual artists and of the cultures they come from, in the “colonization of difference” (Foster, qtd in Kwon, One Place after Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity, New Ed London, The Mit Press, 2004, p. 139).

The expectations of western art institutions incarcerate the non-western artist within her/his difference. The overvaluing of difference, of authenticity ends up in the stereotyping of the artist and his/her culture. As a result, those artists are considered not as individual subjects but as representative of essentialized, homogenized, exoticized culture that suits to the mindset of western institutions.

This situation might also turn into an awkward censorship mechanism, that can end up muting the artists, which steals from the artist to engage in a critical relationship with his/her everyday life. Whenever the artist genuinely tries to engage with the social, political, historical agendas of her/his being, he/she is either blamed for “serving the western, orientalist, exoticist discourse”, as being in the periphery sells in the western art institutions, thus exploiting the marginal status of her/his geography.

In this paper, I will focus on the impacts of orientalism on the art production, beginning from Osman Hamdi’s contentious body of work, and moving to new exoticism, to the changing facade of orientalism of our time and its impacts on the contemporary art production of Turkey, exemplifying the situation with the works of two emerging artists, Burcu Yagcioglu’s video work; « I would swallow you whole » and Deniz Sözen’s works “questioning her identity as an artist and as an ethnic 'curiosity'” against all the stereotypical and simple minded perception of “‘otherness’ often promoted by a Euro-American-centric art market”. Through reading those artists, I will try to challenge the preconceptions about intrinsic orientalism, orientalism performed by “native” artists.

ÖZBIYIK Kadriye, Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

TOPKAPI PALACE AMBASSADOR'S TREASURE

The Treasury collection of Topkapi Palace Museum consists of a variety of valuable items brought the palace for various reasons and in different ways. The Imperial Treasure (Hazine-I Hümayun) is, in a sense, the Palace’s treasury and was divided into two parts: internal and external. The Sultans’ treasury (Hazine-i Hassa) is located in the courtyard of Enderun, which was built by Sultan Mehmed II.

The Palace’s treasury contains various collections. The Ambassador’s Treasure is one such collection and consists of gifts sent to ambassadors between the 15^th and 19^th centuries as a result of diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Palace and other countries.

Since the beginning of the 18^th century, the Ottomans looked to build cultural and political associations with the Western world, sent envoys abroad, kept permanent ambassadors in Europe and sent gifts to powerful states of the period. The gifts were recorded in detailed lists and these documents are now preserved in the Palace Archives.

In this paper, the Palace Ambassador’s Treasury will be briefly introduced. In particular, the archives of documents that detail the gifts sent by the Ottoman Palace to European countries and gifts received from European countries will be evaluated and explained. Among these documents are details of the gifts sent to the French and Austrian (Nemçe) Emperor; gifts sent to Katarina, the czarina of Russia; gifts that the Russian ambassador brought; and gifts sent by the King of Poland. Since the study is still continuing, if found in the archives, any links between the documents and items within the museum collection will be identified and discussed.

ÖZKAYA Hatice Gökçen, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

DOCUMENTING DOMESTIC CULTURE AND ARCHITECTURE AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN ISTANBUL: ACCORDING TO AHKAM RECORDS

XVIII^th century is an age of the change and transformation of domestic practices and also private spaces for Ottoman society, especially in Istanbul. However, for the period before the nineteenth century, domestic architecture in Istanbul cannot be represented with existing buildings because of the very limited quantity of examples. Thus, to make a reliable documentary analysis of domestic culture and architecture and living conditions in the XVIII^th century is nearly impossible. For example, visual documents describing the house and life in it are rarely found. For these reasons, scholarly studies concerning domestic culture of this period has been still unsatisfactory. On the other hand, the documents are not limited with these. A great number of official Ottoman documents such as waqfiyes, tahrir and accountancy registers of waqfs, correspondences of Divan-i Hümayun, kadi registers, can be utilized with regard to the data about the issues mentioned above by the researchers. Ahkam registers of Istanbul are also among these documents and contain rich material, which can be employed to reveal the domestic culture and architecture and living conditions in the XVIII^th century. In this paper, these registers and the data which can be obtained from these registers about the mentioned issues will be introduced to the researchers. In addition to this, it is principally aimed to point out that the official Ottoman documents about the different periods and the different geographical regions in the Ottoman Empire, like the Ahkam registers, not only provide the data for architectural historians to be informed about the culture and architecture in those periods and regions, but also bring them the new perspectives in order to re-evaluate and revise the studies up till now.

PAPP Adrienn, Budapest History Museum, Hungary

WHAT PRESTIGE DID THE BUILDINGS OF BUDA AND PEST DATING TO THE PERIOD OF THE TURKISH CONQUEST HOLD IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE?

Buda was part of the Ottoman Empire between 1541 and 1686; it, as a Christian royal center, became the provincial seat of the Muslim empire. Members of the Sokollu family were also present among the pashas of this vilayet, which fact refers to the relevant relations maintained with the heart of the empire. Such relations, which display sometimes spectacularly, might be identified through the buildings of Buda. The other interesting aspect is the chronological appearance of these facilities: the most crucial constructions date back to the 16^th century.

Located on the opposite bank of the Danube River, Pest well exemplifies the reconstruction and progress of a town, where families as founders that played an important role also in this vilayet migrated to. The architectural design of Pest slightly deviates from that of Buda, which has also been observed.

My intention is to present this theme in view of two aspects:

Through the design of these buildings on one hand. There are still standing buildings, such as baths, djamis, and türbes dating to the period of the Turkish Conquest, there are some that have been investigated by archaeological excavations, and there are further ones of which survey drawings have remained to date. We, based on the foregoing, have composed a general scene of the buildings of Buda and Pest dating to the period of the Turkish Conquest. Therefore, it has become worth analyzing how these facilities fit the architecture of the Ottoman Empire, and which other structures they show relationship with as regards their more sophisticated architectural details and decoration, etc. in addition to their key plan design. The fact that archaeological investigations, during which new data have been recorded, were conducted in six buildings in the past years makes this theme quite timely.
The relationship of these buildings with the city: The conversion of the mediaeval Christian city into a Muslim one demonstrates conscious urban planning. If the locations of the construction sites designated by Sokollu Mustafa Pasha are taken into account, we may see that he designated these locations in four paramount areas, each of which hosted one külliye.
These were connected to the relevant and carefully selected points of the city, and they also contained several variously designed buildings. Conscious design can certainly be identified, because these new centers were established through the conversion of the areas covered in mediaeval times. The aforementioned külliye gave way to one of the most typical urbanization and architectural elements of the Ottoman Empire both in Buda and Pest. Compared to other identifiable tendencies of the newly conquered provinces of the Ottoman Empire, a similar organizational and "urban development" principle can be deduced.

STANICA Aurel-Daniel, Institute of Eco-Museum Research Tulcea, Tulcea, Romania

TURKISH CERAMICS DISCOVERED IN THE NORTH OF DOBROGEA

After the conquest of Dobrogea, cities like Babadag, Isaccea, Tulcea have represented important centers in the new organization of the province. The strategical position on the way to North-South, the settlement near Isaccea hill, the meeting place of Ottoman army on their way to the North of the Danube, were the arguments that led to calling Babadag, Isaccea and Tulcea, the most important cities of the region.

The North part of Dobrogea represented an obligatory transit place for travelers, diplomats, clerics, merchants etc., who visited the towns, letting us important documentary information. In the 15^th-18^th centuries Dobrogean cities Babadag, Isaccea and Tulcea had an important economical and commercial function, associated with the administrative and military one. Due to them geographical position these towns showed strong advantages for transit trade which bounded Russia, Poland and Romanian Countries to the commercial centers from the Mediterranean Sea and Egee Sea.

After the recent archaeological research has been discovered a very rich archaeological material, especially ottoman pottery which proceeded from ceramic centers like Iznik and Kütahya. In this paper are presented a lot of objects (bowls, pipes, jugs, etc.) which represented Turkish ceramic, fortuitous discovered or after archaeological research which are presented in the museums collection such us: The Museum of History and Archaeology or Museum of Fine Art, both part of the Eco-Museal Research Institute from Tulcea.

YAKUSHKINA Ekatherina, Russian Academy of Arts, Moscow, Russia

OTTOMAN IMPERIAL STYLE IN YEMEN ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE.PROBLEMS OF IDENTIFICATION

The Yemen architecture of the period of Ottoman rule (1538-1638) attracts substantial attention. The surviving monuments provide the sufficient evidence for distinctive architectural style that emerged in Yemen during this time as a regional variant of Ottoman imperial style. We have good grounds for supposing that it resulted from a synthesis of two different strains – local and adopted Ottoman, imported from the empire's center. This influence is evidenced by changes in basic constructive components of buildings, in composition of its ground plan, some particularities of decoration. Some innovations (especially introduction of large central domes) conformed closely to notions of Sinan but obtained here a specific local interpretation. The development of decorative forms which embellished the structures also experienced an impact of Turkish arts. Plaster friezes, stained glass, carved wooden panels represent gradual fusion of Ottoman craftsmanship into local Yemeni culture.

After this period of the Ottoman rule there was an evident turn to a taste for more simple shapes and constructions. Architectural vocabulary noticeably reduced: large domes almost totally disappeared, decoration grew simpler.

From period of Ottoman rule has been preserved a considerable architectural heritage comprising a number of mosques, mausoleums and civic buildings, mainly concentrated in Sana'a – the official capital of the Ottoman Yemen. The most significant Ottoman monument in Sana'a is Al-Bakiriyya mosque (1597), large imposing complex, which prototypes can be seen both in the works of Sinan and in earlier Yemeni mosques such as 'Amiriyya in Rada' (1512).

Among the finest Ottoman monuments also can be named Qubbat al-Muradiyya (1576) and Qubbat Talha (1619-20; renovated in 1831-32) both in Sana'a, complex of Mustafa Pasha in Zabid (1554).

There is no common opinion about the character of Yemen-Turkey cultural relationship and artistic exchange between them. The degree of the Ottoman influence, ways of transmission and adaptation of the new forms was largely determined by the strong existing tradition and the historical context of the 16^th century. Transference of architectural motifs was followed by its further interpretation and complex transformation influenced by interaction with local traditions.