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Osman Hamdi Bey and the Americans

Archaeology | Diplomacy | Art

October 15, 2011 - January 8, 2012

Based on the intersecting lives of painter, archaeologist and museologist Osman Hamdi Bey, American archaeologist and photographer John Henry Haynes, as well as Prof. Hermann Vollrath Hilprech, the exhibition focused on the first excavations American archaeologists conducted in Ottoman lands -Assos and Nippur- and the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The exhibition, curated by Prof. Renata Holod and Prof. Robert Ousterhout from the University of Pennsylvania, showcased for the first time a rich selection of paintings by Osman Hamdi Bey, archaeological photographs and drawings from the 19th century, letters, travel journals, and archaeological artifacts. This unique selection was on loan from the University of Pennsylvania, Fine Arts Museum Boston, İstanbul Archaeological Museums, İstanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture, as well as private collections. Apart from his lesser-known paintings, two unknown works of Osman Hamdi Bey discovered at the Penn Museum were also introduced to visitors.

Exhibition Catalogue

Osman Hamdi Bey and the Americans

Osman Hamdi Bey and the Americans

Based on the intersecting lives of painter, archaeologist, and museologist Osman Hamdi Bey, American archaeologist and photographer John Henry Haynes, as well as Prof. Hermann Vollrath Hilprecht,...

Video

Chlebowski’s Sultan

Chlebowski’s Sultan

This is one of Stanisław Chlebowski’s larger canvasses dealing with themes other than battles; only Ottoman Life at the Sweet Waters now at the Istanbul Military Museum can compare with it in size.

Demons, Symbols, and the Cosmos

Demons, Symbols, and the Cosmos

Beliefs surrounding illness and healing in Byzantium stem from the myths, astrology, and magic practiced around the Mediterranean by Jews, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Greeks.

From two portraits of children…

From two portraits of children…

The Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation’s Orientalist Painting Collection includes two children’s portraits that are often featured in exhibitions on the second floor of the Pera Museum. These portraits both date back to the early 20th century, and were made four years apart. One depicts Prince Abdürrahim Efendi, son of Sultan Abdulhamid II, while the figure portrayed on the other is Nazlı, the daughter of Osman Hamdi Bey.