Vehbi Koç’s House Opened to Visitors with a Josephine Powell Exhibition
The Büyükdere House in Sarıyer, Istanbul where Vehbi Koç spent his summers with his family, is opened to the public with an exhibition. The exhibition showcasing the kilims, which Josephine Powell, one of the last travelers of Anatolia, collected over a period of more than two decades, from the 1970s to the 1990s, and were donated to the Vehbi Koç Foundation after her passing in 2007, is now open to visitors.
Josephine Powell was the first foreigner allowed to travel across Turkey and explore the country after the founding of the Republic. She traveled around Anatolia countless times, visiting nomadic camps, shops of carpet and kilim sellers, and photographing their daily activities and handicrafts. The Josephine Powell collection exhibited indefinitely at the Vehbi Koç Büyükdere House features 36 kilims, select examples woven in the Ottoman era from the 18th to the 20th century, and survived to present day, as well as six sacks, one weaving loom and 73 weaving tools.
Hülya Bilgi, Director of Sadberk Hanım Museum, expressed their pleasure about presenting this special collection at the Vehbi Koç House after a meticulous preparation process with the museum team: “We went through a very important preparation process after Metin Deniz, the exhibition designer, created the project to showcase the collection’s rare kilims and weaving tools. All the restoration and renovation works at the Vehbi Koç Büyükdere House, including air conditioning and lighting systems, were carried our with great care. The kilims were placed on the stands in five rooms of the house last May.”
Kilims, which played an important role in the settled and nomadic lifestyles of Turks, with various functions such as mats, sacks, saddlebags, cradle spreads, tapestry, camel load cover, coffin cloth, and trousseau cover take the visitors on a delightful journey with special motifs including ‘eli belinde,’ ‘mihrap,’ tree of life, hook, ram horn, hexagon and rhombus that have intrigued numerous researchers and scientists for centuries.
Vehbi Koç Büyükdere House is open to visitors with free entrance every day except Wednesdays from 10.00 pm to 5.00 pm.
