Page 9 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Foreword

he richness of the sixteenth century in European art is such that we tend to forget how
Tmuch was happening in other parts of the world. This first comprehensive exhibition of
Turkish art devoted to the most celebrated period of Ottoman history, the reign of Sultan
Süleyman the Magnificent, reminds us of the great civilization that flourished at the eastern
end of the Mediterranean.
Süleyman is known as "the Lawgiver" in Turkey for his far-reaching influence on civil law.
Some of his acts were models for the legal codes of many countries, including our own. Thus
the sultan's likeness appears in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives,
joining the images of great leaders such as Hammurabi, Moses, Solon, and Jefferson, whose
thinking helped to shape our constitution.
A brilliant jurist, Süleyman was also a discerning collector, a significant patron, and an
accomplished poet. He, as well as his wife, daughter, sons, and court officials, commissioned
many architectural monuments and literary and historical texts. The sophisticated patronage
of Süleyman and his court nurtured the high standards and creativity that came to typify
Ottoman art of the sixteenth century. The Age of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, with more
than two hundred judiciously chosen works of art, includes manuscripts (with examples of
Süleyman's own poetry) as well as jeweled vessels, silks, painted ceramics, and other
sumptuous objects created in the imperial studios under the guidelines established by the
sultan. This system of centralized court workshops permitted the dissemination of high
standards throughout the empire. These workshops were crucial not only for the spread of
favored themes from the capital to provincial centers, but also for fostering a synthesis of
European and Islamic styles with Turkish ones.
We are indebted to the Turkish government for its enthusiastic response in lending to us
under its new law that allows national treasures to leave the country on a temporary basis.
Kenan Evren, the president of the Republic of Turkey; Turgut Ôzal, the prime minister; Mesut
Yilmaz, the state minister for information; Vahit Halefoglu, the minister of foreign affairs;
Mükerrem Ta^cioglu, the minister of culture and tourism; §ükrü Elekdag, the ambassador of
the Republic of Turkey; M. Olu§ Ank, deputy minister of culture and tourism; Erdogan
Sanalan, general director of cultural affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Nurettin
Yardimci, general director of antiquities and museums in the Ministry of Culture and
Tourism; and other Turkish officials and their staffs have helped bring this exhibition to
fruition with the same spirit of patronage of the arts demonstrated by Süleyman himself. In
addition, we would like to thank Robert Strausz-Hupé, the United States ambassador to
Turkey, and his staff, who have energetically promoted this cultural exchange. We are also
grateful to the public institutions and private collectors who have entrusted us with these
magnificent objects. A list of their names follows this Foreword.