Ali Emiri Efendi and His World

If the cultural inheritance of past, particularly the fragile and perishable pieces of inheritance - such as books, documents, manuscripts or photographs-miraculously manage to survive until the present day, it is mostly through the efforts of a number of nameless heroes, who dedicate their entire lives to the collection, preservation and transmission of these objects to future generations. Thanks to these men, who recognize and appreciate their value, many priceless works of the past have withstood wars, destruction or natural disasters, transcending centuries to assume their places in today's contemporary museums and library collections.

Ali Emîrî Efendi and His World exhibition hosted in both the galleries of the Pera Museum and of the İstanbul Research Institute, sought to explore the unconventional adventures of such a man. Through the imperial edicts, books and calligraphic works he excavated from the debris of a deteriorating empire, subsequently preserved and donated to the Millet Library, which he established. Alongside a selection of his personal belongings and documents, we encounter the persona of Ali Emîrî Efendi as a “culture man” and journey into a world he was passionately connected to. The catalogue also includes articles by Ekrem Işın, Tuba Çavdar, Melek Gençboyacı, Mübahat S. Kütükoğlu, and Uğur Derman.

Date of Publication: 2007
Number of pages:  293
ISBN: 978-975-9123-26-0