Imperial Collections of Topkapı Palace on Display: The Imperial Treasury, the Sacred Relics Collection, and the Ottoman Museum of Antiquities

This study examines three imperial collections housed within sultanic pavilions at Topkapı Palace during the late Ottoman era. Originally constructed in the 15th century during the reign of Mehmed II (the Conqueror) for the sultan’s personal use, these pavilions underwent significant functional and symbolic transformations over time. The Fatih Kiosk, once a private space where the sovereign collected and contemplated his collection of valuables, was repurposed as the Ottoman Imperial Treasury. The Privy Chamber, which was once the ruler’s bedroom and throne room, became the Chamber of Sacred Relics, where Islamic relics were safeguarded and venerated. Meanwhile, the Tiled Pavilion, a garden kiosk situated in the palace’s outer gardens, was converted into the Ottoman Museum of Antiquities in the late 19th century. These three royal pavilions were opened up for visits during the 19th century for diverse audiences holding different collections. By analysing the spaces, objects, audiences, and visiting rituals associated with these collections, this article explores Ottoman strategies of collecting and display. Reading these collections as proto-museal institutions, this research argues that the intertwined methods and discourses of exhibiting established the foundations of Ottoman and Turkish museology.