Page 11 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Acknowledgments

he idea for this project was born over a decade ago when I was working on the impact of
Tthe nakka§hane on the decorative vocabulary of Ottoman art. I found I wanted to share
my findings with a wide audience, in the form of an exhibition. At that time the antiquities
laws of Turkey prohibited the loan of objects, and so I became involved with other exhibi-
tions and publications, hoping that one day the project would be realized. The delay in the
change of Turkey's antiquities laws was most fortuitous, since in the interval I was able to
focus on a particular period and concentrate on the patronage of a remarkable man, Sultan
Süleyman the Magnificent, during whose reign the characteristic features of Turkish art were
formulated.
I owe a debt of gratitude to many friends and colleagues who shared my enthusiasm and
encouraged the project during all these years. This undertaking could not have been possible
without the support of the government of Turkey and the efforts of the Turkish officials men-
tioned in the Foreword. In addition, I would like to personally acknowledge the assistance of
Aytug izat, Nimet Berkok, Mehmet Yilmaz, and Nilüfer Ertan in the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism; Erdogan Aytun in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Aydan Karahan, Murat Er-
savci, Ferit Ergin, and Gem Tarhan in the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Washington.
The majority of the works of art in the exhibition belong to the Topkapi Palace Museum,
where they have been meticulously preserved since the day they were created. I am grateful
to Kemal Çig, Afif Duruçay, and Sabahattin Batur, the former directors; to Sabahattin Türk-
oglu, the present director; and to the members of the curatorial staff for allowing me to spend
many months researching their collections and for accommodating my endless requests. I am
also grateful to the directors and staffs of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Library
of the University of Istanbul, and the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, particularly to Nazan
Tapan-Ôlçer and Erol Pakin. Above all, I want to acknowledge Filiz Çagman, my collaborator
for the project in the Topkapi Palace, for her unrelenting efforts, cheerful assistance, and criti-
cal guidance through all these years.
Other friends and colleagues in western Asia, Europe, and the United States were most sup-
portive when I approached them for the loan of their precious objects. I thank the following

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