Ancient Orient Museum
The building which today houses the Museum of the
Ancient Orient was built in 1883 to house the Academy of Fine Arts founded
by Osman Hamdi Bey. After two years of restoration financed by Garanti
Bankasi, the museum has now reopened. The building was designed by the
celebrated architect Alexandre Vallaury in neo-renaissance style, and an
extension later built in neo-Greek style.
When the Academy of Fine Arts moved to new premises
in Cagaloglu in the early 20th century, the old building was converted
into a museum by Halil Edhem Bey to exhibit finds from the ancient
cultures of the Near East. German museologist Eckhard Unger, who worked at
the museum in 1917-1919 and 1932-1935, arranged the exhibits. During
repairs which began in 1963 the porch was demolished and some structural
changes made to the interior. The museum reopened in 1974. Over recent
years this museum and its sister
institution Istanbul Archaeological Museum have adopted a
contemporary approach to exhibition design, and both the old building and
the displays have been reorganised. As a result they received the Council
of Europe Museum Award in 1993. The Museum of the Ancient Orient
collections consist of pre-Islamic works from
the Arabian peninsula, Egypt, Mesopotamia and
Anatolia. A large proportion of the Pre-Islamic Arabian collection
(4th century BC - 1st century AD) come from southern Arabia, with a
smaller number from Nabatea in northern Arabia. They mainly consist of
inscriptions, relief panels, tombstones and votive figurines.The Egyptian
collection (2575 BC - 1st century AD) comprises finds from excavations,
pieces donated from private collections, and chance finds, and includes
sphinxes, steles, altars, sarcophagi, and finds from tombs and temples.
The Mesopotamian collection (5000 - 6th century BC) consists largely of
finds from excavations carried out between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
prior to the First World War. There are also some important chance finds
from Sab in northern Mesopotamia, Hadatu south-west of Urfa, Pir Huseyin
near Diyarbakir, and Tel Abta west of Nineve.The Anatolian collection
(4000-1000 BC) includes finds from excavations prior to the First World
War, such as those carried out by German archaeologists between 1882 and
1894, and at the Hittite capital Hattusas in central Anatolia in
1907-1912. Some of the objects were also purchased from private
collections. This collection represents the Late Chalcolithic Period,
Early Bronze Age Hattian Culture, Middle Bronze Age Colony Period
settlements, Old Hittite, Hittite Empire and Late Hittite Kingdoms.
Source: Sky life 10/2000
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