The new exhibition at Sadberk Hanım Museum, Turkey’s first private museum, titled Pride and Keepsake: Sadberk Hanım Museum Oğuz Aydemir Handkerchief Collection, opened its doors on October 9. The exhibition brings together H. Oğuz Aydemir’s collection of commemorative handkerchiefs, which he meticulously assembled over the years and donated to the museum in 2018. Coordinated by Museum Director Hülya Bilgi and curated by Dr. Ozan Torun, the exhibition features 82 handkerchiefs selected from the collection.
History Hidden in Handkerchiefs
A handkerchief is not just a personal item; it is also an elegant way of remembering, narrating, and transmitting… The Pride and Keepsake exhibition, opened at the Sadberk Hanım Museum, offers a silent but powerful narrative about the past through these meaningful objects. The commemorative handkerchiefs featured in the exhibition address the significant events of the turbulent period spanning from the Crimean War to World War II, the locations where these events took place, and the heroes of these events.
The exhibition, which has a thematic structure, allows visitors to follow the political, economic, and social upheavals of the period in question in a chronological flow. The colonial race, driven by mass production and capital accumulation that began with the Industrial Revolution, the successive establishment of nation-states with the spread of nationalist ideas, international fairs showcasing industrial inventions, wars causing great destruction, events behind the front lines while battles raged at the front, the anniversaries of monarchs’ ascensions to the throne, and the collapse of great dynasties—many defining events of recent history are carried to the present day in these handkerchiefs, which are almost like historical documents.
Collection of 141 Handkerchiefs
After the H. Oğuz Aydemir Collection of 141 handkerchiefs was transferred to the Sadberk Hanım Museum, it underwent a long-term restoration and conservation process in accordance with a plan prepared by museum experts. While some handkerchiefs were in relatively good condition, others were worn to such an extent that they required serious intervention. As a result of meticulous work carried out by the museum’s textile conservators, all handkerchiefs in the collection received the necessary care and any missing parts were replaced. At the end of the process, the handkerchiefs were ready to be presented to the public through this exhibition and also took their place in the museum collection as cultural assets for researchers and art lovers for many years to come.
Dr. Umut Durmuş undertook the exhibition design. The exhibition catalog, prepared in Turkish and English by Dr. Mehmet Bezdan and Saro Dadyan, examines the period and purpose of production of the handkerchiefs in the collection within a broad historical framework, while providing important information about the symbols, figures, and details featured in the handkerchief compositions.
