EVENING LECTURES
All evening lectures take place in the Reynolds Room at the Royal Academy; 6.30pm–7.30pm; £14/£6 students (includes exhibition entry and a drink); £10 (lecture and a drink only)
To book or for further information, please call 020 7300 5839 or fax 020 7300 8071. For information only, email: events.lectures@royalacademy.org.uk
Friday 11 February
The Ottoman Court and the Sumptuary Arts
Michael Rogers, formerly the Nasser D. Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at SOAS
The Ottoman Sultans created splendour in their court by employing artisans and manufacturers of luxury goods on an unprecedented scale. Iznik potters produced fine blue-and-white tableware for the Sultans, satisfying their demands for Chinese-style porcelain, and later provided ceramic tiles for the interior decoration of palaces and religious buildings. As illustrations to their later 16th-century chronicles demonstrate, Ottoman Sultans also adopted luxury silks – brocades, velvets, satins and cloth-of-gold – as essential features of court ceremonial. With their brilliant colours and rich floral or geometric patterns in which chinoiserie motifs were conspicuous, they dazzled visitors from the European Renaissance courts. Michael Rogers, formerly the Nasser D. Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, explores the relations between these characteristically Turkish arts.
Friday 18 February
Mehmed II: A Quattrocento Despot?
Robert Irwin, author and novelist
When Mehmed II captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in 1453, and his troops sacked the city, a well-known Italian churchman and classical scholar exclaimed that it was like learning of ‘the second death of Homer and Plato’. But as the decades passed and the Ottoman Sultan sent diplomatic missions to Venice, Naples, Rimini and elsewhere, asking for Italian artists and scholars to be sent to his new capital, some Christian thinkers came to look on Mehmed’s regime as a model of statecraft and of enlightened Quattrocento cultural patronage. Such a view persists today, but the author and novelist Robert Irwin suggests that this overwhelmingly Western perspective is misleading and that it might be more useful to look at the visual and literary culture of Mehmed’s court through Eastern (and Persian) eyes.
Friday 25 February
Colourisation of Rhythm: ‘Mehter’ Bands of the Turks
Dr Emre Aracý, composer and musicologist
In his illustrated lecture, with slides and recorded musical examples, composer and musicologist Dr Emre Aracý will explore the origins and characteristics of the centuries-old Turkish military bands known as ‘mehter’. An extremely percussive and vibrant musical tradition which reached its zenith during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent in the 16th century, music of the Ottoman janissaries inspired some of the greatest composers of the western world including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Berlioz described it as the ‘colourisation of rhythm’.
Friday 11 March
Timur and his Successors: Art and Ideology in the 1400s
Professor David Roxburgh, Harvard University
The art and architecture of the Timurid dynasty – founded by Timur in 1370 – became the embodiment of dynastic charisma for contemporary and later dynasties of Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and India. Professor David Roxburgh, Harvard University, demonstrates how art was used as an ideological instrument by Timur and his successors, as in the inscription to Timur’s palace in Shahr-i Sabz: ‘If you have doubts about our grandeur, look at our edifice.’ In addition to discussing Timurid architecture and how it was commissioned to meet the needs and expectations of a diverse population, the lecture also introduces objects of a more private nature – genealogies, panegyric biographies, and histories – to explore the various political, social, and cultural meanings developed in Timurid art.
Friday 18 March
Sons of the Conquerors: The Rise of the Modern Turkic World
Hugh Pope, foreign correspondent and writer
Foreign correspondent and writer Hugh Pope discusses the recent social, political and economic successes of major Turkic states stretching from the Balkans to China. Five hundred years ago, Turkic dynasties held sway over large areas of India, the Balkans, Russia, China and the Middle East. Numbering 140 million people worldwide, they are now rising again. Their biggest state, Turkey, has the largest economy and army between Europe and India. Propelled by new Caspian oil wealth, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are also emerging powers in the region. While Turkic states show little sign of any impending political unity, there is a new convergence of languages, cultures and business. In an increasingly diverse Muslim world, they offer an alternative example of pragmatic, secular Islamic governance, a readiness to work with the West and an ambition to succeed.
Friday 1 April
The Evolution of Sinan’s Imperial Mosques in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Professor Gülru Necipoglu, Harvard University
The grand imperial mosques of Sinan, the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire between 1539 and 1588, are celebrated for their centralised domed spaces, often compared with parallel developments in Renaissance Italy. Sinan is particularly renowned for his innovative mosques in which the central domed baldachin appears weightless and the interior surfaces bathed in light. Professor Gülru
Necipoglu, Harvard University, traces the evolution of Ottoman imperial mosques from the second half of the fifteenth century onward, culminating in the masterpieces of Sinan. The development of these imperial mosques is presented against the comparative backdrop of Italian Renaissance church architecture to highlight cross-cultural dialogues across the eastern Mediterranean basin during the early modern era.
FREE LUNCHTIME LECTURES
All free lunchtime lecture take place in the Reynolds Room; 1–2pm; collect tokens from the entrance to the Saloon from 12 noon; doors open at 12.30pm; first come, first served
Monday 31 January
Introduction to the Exhibition
Dr Adrian Locke, co-curator of the exhibition
Monday 7 February
From the Steppes to Oasis Towns on the Silk Road: Uighur Cultural Centres from the 8th–11th Centuries
Dr Lilla Russell-Smith, independent art historian
Monday 14 February
‘A people clad in fur, faces like battered shields’: Islam and the Turks
Professor Gerald Hawting, SOAS
Monday 21 February
Transformations in Art and Architecture under the Seljuks and their
Successors, 1050–1250
Dr Oya Pancaroglu, University of Oxford
Monday 7 March
How Fear Turned to Fascination: Early English Visitors to the Ottoman Empire
Professor Gerald Maclean, Wayne State University, Detroit
COURSE
Mondays 28 February, 14, 21 March
The Glory of the Ottoman Empire
Dr Colin Imber, University of Manchester; Philip Mansel, author; Dr Caroline Finkel
This three-part course explores one of the greatest and most powerful civilisations of the modern period. At the height of its glory, the Ottoman Empire pursued an aggressive policy of military expansion, conquering the capital of the Byzantine Empire and seriously destabilising the Holy Roman Empire. It was also renowned for its magnificent art and architecture, as each successive Sultan endeavoured to make Istanbul the centre of Islamic culture. Dr Colin Imber, University of Manchester, describes the origins of the Ottoman Empire under Osman and the rule of Mehmed I; author Philip Mansel examines the imperial policies of the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople, Mehmed II, whose vision of a multinational empire remained, until the end, one of its defining principles; Dr Caroline Finkel recalls the celebrated reign of Süleyman the Magnificent.
Reynolds Room, Royal Academy; 2–4pm; £45/£25 students (includes catalogue, exhibition entry and tea); single session £15 (includes exhibition entry and tea)
FOCUS DAYS AND WORKSHOPS
Saturday 19 March
Great Turkic Rulers: Warlords, Patrons, Sultans
Dr Oya Pancaroglu, University of Oxford; Justin Marozzi, author; Rachel Ward, curator
This Focus Day examines the personalities and legacies of three great Turkic rulers who presided over a ‘golden age’ of their respective cultures. Dr Oya Pancaroglu, University of Oxford, explores the Anatolian (Rum) Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad, who ruled during the ‘Seljuk Century of Bliss’ (13th century) and whose prolific building of palaces, caravanserais and mosques transformed the medieval Anatolian landscape; author Justin Marozzi looks at Tamerlane (Timur the Lame), a fierce tyrant who built towers with the heads of his enemies but who also transformed Samarqand into a city of exquisite beauty; finally, curator Rachel Ward considers the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, who was a brilliant military strategist, a canny politician and an energetic cultivator of the arts. A panel discussion follows.
Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1; 10am–2pm; £25/£15 students (includes exhibition entry and tea)
Saturday 2 April
Islamic Art and Artistic Exchange
Dr Keith Critchlow, The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts; Dr Robin Cormack, Courtauld Institute of Art; Dr Venetia Porter, British Museum
This Focus Day reveals the exquisite beauty, brilliant colour and harmonious design of Islamic art, and examines artistic exchange across dynasties addressed by the exhibition. Dr Keith Critchlow, The Prince’s School for Traditional Arts, considers the contribution of geometry to Islamic art and how it expresses the order and logic inherent in the Islamic vision of the universe; Dr Robin Cormack, Courtauld Institute of Art, looks at the Hagia Sophia as a symbol of the cross-fertilisation that transpired between Byzantine art and Islamic art with the fall of Constantinople; Dr Venetia Porter, British Museum, discusses the function, production and decoration of Islamic ceramic tiles, explaining the techniques of the craftsmen and comparing Seljuk and Iznik tilework.
Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1; 10am–2pm; Focus Day only £25/£15 students (includes exhibition entry and tea); Focus Day and Turkish Tile Painting Workshop (see below) £50/£40 students (includes exhibition entry, tea, art materials and wine)
Saturday 2 April
Turkish Tile Painting Workshop
Led by Delfina Bottesini from The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, this practical workshop encourages participants to decorate their own handmade ceramic tile inspired by traditional Turkish motifs. Participants explore the relationship between geometric and biomorphic (Islimi) design and practice traditional brushwork techniques before transferring their chosen design on to a hexagonal tile and decorating it with coloured glazes.
Gallery 10, Royal Academy; 3pm–7pm; tickets for the workshop are only sold together with tickets for the Islamic Art and Artistic Exchange Focus Day (see prices above); limited places available so advance booking is advised
PUBLIC GALLERY TALKS
45-minute introductory gallery talks; free with an exhibition ticket; 2.30pm on Wednesdays, 7pm on Fridays
SPOTLIGHT TALKS
10-minute talks focusing on individual works; free with an exhibition ticket; 3pm on Thursdays
SCHOOL VISITS
Gallery Talks for Schools
Mondays at 9am, 10.30am, 12 noon and 2pm; Tuesdays at 10.30am, 12 noon and 2pm; Thursdays at 10.30am and 12 noon; Fridays at 9am. Please call 020 7300 5995 to book.
EDUCATION GUIDES
An Introduction to the Exhibition is available free to teachers and secondary students from the Education Desk, with a ticket to the exhibition. It is on sale to other visitors from the RA Show for £3.95. Art Detectives, a gallery explorer for primary school children, is also free with an exhibition ticket.
FAMILY WORKSHOPS
Tuesday 15 February and Thursday 17 February
A family workshop with introductory slide talk, a visit to the exhibition and a practical hands-on session.
Gallery 10, Royal Academy; 10.15am–1pm; £2 with an exhibition ticket; to book, please call 020 7300 5995
ACCESS
All public areas are accessible. Guide and hearing dogs are welcome. Exhibition tickets, parking spaces (limited), one-to-one guides and wheelchairs must be pre-booked on 020 7300 5995; fax 020 7300 8071; textphone 020 7300 5762; transcripts of audio guides and large print gallery guides and labels are available.
For further press information, please contact Susie Pickering or Catherine Mason on tel: 020 7300 5614/8041, fax: 020 7300 8032, or email press.office@royalacademy.org.uk
For public information, please phone 020 7300 8000
Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London WIJ 0BD 18.01.05
