Seeds and Metaphors
The Art of Weights and Measures Exhibition Tour

Guided Tour

May 31, 2024 / 18:30

Although the act of weighing was quite simple in itself, trying to formulate the units for measuring was conceptual and complex. The ancient Mesopotamian civilizations laid the foundations of the units of weight based on barley seeds as a result of their daily practices. Ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, used the metaphor of weighing the souls of the deceased to cross the boundaries of everyday life and make sense of life after death. Understanding what cannot be measured was a difficult task, even thousands of years ago.

The guided exhibition tour explores the four-thousand-year social and economic history of Anatolia, focusing on metaphors shaped around the concepts of weight and measurement. Participants also have the opportunity to see the objects that are not displayed in the exhibition.

The 45-minute guided tour is free of charge, and the language is Turkish. The quota is limited. To join the tour, you can make a reservation via resepsiyon@peramuzesi.org.tr e-mail address.

Temporary Exhibition

The Art of Weights and Measures

As the measurement of discovery became the substance of myths, weighing and measuring, beyond being mere physical actions, became an important means of self-expression to those captivated by the universe and what lay beyond the boundaries of knowledge. 

The Art of Weights and Measures

Demons, Symbols, and the Cosmos

Demons, Symbols, and the Cosmos

Beliefs surrounding illness and healing in Byzantium stem from the myths, astrology, and magic practiced around the Mediterranean by Jews, Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Greeks.

 Who Is Pablo Picasso?

Who Is Pablo Picasso?

Born on October 25, 1881 in Malaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso’s full name takes about two lines: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso.

Horror Vacui <br> Alejandro Almanza Pereda

Horror Vacui
Alejandro Almanza Pereda

Pera Museum, in collaboration with Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is one of the main venues for this year’s 15th Istanbul Biennial from 16 September to 12 November 2017.