Istanbul Archaeology Museum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Main building from the courtyard.

Interior of the museum.

The Istanbul Archaeology Museum (Turkish: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzesi) is an archeological museum, located in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace.

The Istanbul Archaeology Museum actually consists of three museums. Those are the main Archeology Museum, the Old Eastern Works Museum and the Enameled Kiosk Museum. It houses over one million objects that represent almost all of the eras and civilizations in world history.

1 History
2 Exhibited artifacts
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Main building's construction was started by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1881. It gained its latest form in 1908. The architect was Alexander Vallaury. The façade of the building was made by inspiring from the tombs of Alexander the Great and Crying Women. It is one of the prominent structures built in neoclassical style in Istanbul.

Old Eastern Works Museum was commissioned by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883 as Fine Arts School. Then it was re-organized as a museum and opened in 1935. It was closed to visitors in 1963, but opened again in 1974 with a new display after restoration works in the interior.

Enameled Kiosk Museum was commissioned by Mehmed II the Conqueror in 1472. It is one of the oldest structures of Istanbul featuring Ottoman civil architecture. It was used as the Empire Museum between 1875 and 1891. It was opened to public in 1953 as a museum of Turkish and Islamic art, then it was tranferred to Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

The museum was opened to public in 1891 as the first Turkish museum ever. The first curator was Osman Hamdi Bey, who was also the founder of the museum. It was among the 10 important buildings in the world in lately 19th century. It received the European Council Museum Award in 1991 in its 100. establishment anniversary, especially for the new arrangement made in the lower floor halls and the new display style in additional building.

[edit] Exhibited artifacts

Treaty of Kadesh

The museum has a fantastic collection of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman artifacts, including the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. The most prominent artifacts exhibited in the museum include:

Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, believed to have been that of the emperor himself.
Sarcophagus of the Crying Women, found in a necropolis at Sidon.
Sarcophagi of Tabnit and the Satrap.
The Lycian tomb, a monumental tomb carved in a style befitting a king.
Statues from archaic times until the end of the Roman era, including the ones found at Aphrodisias, Ephesus and Miletus.
Statue of an Ephebos.
Parts of statues from the Temple of Zeus found at Bergama.
Statue of a lion, the only piece saved from the hands of British archaeologists in the Mausoleum of Maussollos.
Snake's head from the Serpentine Column erected in the Hippodrome.
Mother-Goddess Cybele and votive stelai.
Busts of Alexander the Great and Zeus.
Fragments from the temple of Athena at Assos.
The Troy exhibit.
800.000 Ottoman coins, seals, decorations and medals.
One of the three known tablets of the Treaty of Kadesh.
The obelisk of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari III.
Tablet archive containing some 75.000 documents with cuneiform inscriptions.
Artifacts from the early civilizations of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Arabia and Egypt.