A Journey Through Recent History at the Sadberk Hanım Museum

Sadberk Hanım Museum is presenting the collection of commemorative handkerchiefs meticulously gathered by H. Oğuz Aydemir and donated to the museum in 2018 to its visitors.

Prepared under the coordination of Museum Director Hülya Bilgi and curated by Dr. Ozan Torun, the exhibition invites visitors on a colorful journey spanning from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century through a selection of 82 handkerchiefs. 

The commemorative handkerchiefs document significant historical events from the Crimean War to World War II, the places where these events took place, and their witnesses.

These handkerchiefs, which witnessed historical events such as industrialisation, nation-states, wars, royal accessions, and the decline of major dynasties, and were even used in propaganda activities related to these events, are presented to visitors as living historical documents. The thematically structured exhibition also provides the opportunity to follow the political, economic and social ruptures of recent history in chronological sequence.

Thanks to the lengthy restoration and conservation work carried out by museum specialists, all handkerchiefs in the collection have been prepared for display and have become a cultural heritage to be preserved for researchers and art enthusiasts for years to come. 

The exhibition catalogue, prepared by Dr. Mehmet Bezdan and Saro Dadyan as part of the exhibition, presents the historical context, production purposes and compositional details of the handkerchiefs in the collection in Turkish and English.

"Pride and Memory: Sadberk Hanım Museum Oğuz Aydemir Commemorative Handkerchiefs Collection" exhibition awaits visitors from 9 October 2025 to 30 June 2026, daily from 10:00 to 17:00, except Wednesdays.

About Sadberk Hanım Museum
Opened to the public on 14 October 1980 as Turkey's first private museum, the Vehbi Koç Foundation Sadberk Hanım Museum held approximately 3,000 works at its establishment and today continues its work with more than 21,000 works, with the mission of transmitting cultural heritage to future generations and contributing to society's scientific and educational development. Archaeological works reflecting the material culture remnants of civilizations that lived in Anatolia from the 6th millennium BC to the end of the Byzantine period are housed in the Archaeology Department located in the Sevgi Gönül Building, while Islamic works with Ottoman emphasis, European, Far Eastern and Near Eastern works produced for the Ottomans, Ottoman period textiles, costumes and embroidery are displayed at the Azaryan Mansion.