Istanbul’s Archaeological Museum (We Nerd Out)

We hinted in an earlier post about all the great things in Istanbul that warm a classicist’s – or, in our case, classicists’ – heart. But we found ourselves in Nerd Heaven on our recent trip to the Archaeological Museum. The Museum is located right near Topkapı Palace (more on that soon) and other touristy places. It comprises three museums: the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of the Ancient Orient, and the Museum of Islamic Art. Alas, the Ancient Orient Museum is currently closed and we don’t know for how long. But the other two were sufficient: the first one contains an enormous collection of sarcophagi that kept us entertained for hours.

The entrance courtyard that encloses the three buildings has an astonishing array of sculptures and inscriptions that greet you. The preservationist in us was a little horrified at leaving such things out in the elements. But it can’t be denied that they make a very picturesque scene! And of course, the many cats who make their home in the museum grounds only enhance their beauty.

The buildings are in neo-classical style and are the work of the architect Alexander Vallaury (1850–1921) who is also responsible for the beautiful Pera Palace Hotel, built to house passengers arriving in Istanbul on the Orient Express (more on that coming too). Vallaury began the building in 1881, and the official dedication occurred a decade later. Many of the museum’s galleries have been recently redone.

Some of the first rooms you encounter in the museum feature sarcophagi, large rectangular chests for the dead. They are adorned with sculpture and other artistic devices on their sides and they often have an elaborate lid. We have seen many a sarcophagus in our museum travels, but never quite this many and never such spectacular examples. They come mainly from Sidon (in modern Lebanon), and the most famous of them is the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus. It dates from the late 4th century BCE, and the name refers to Alexander the Great. But it’s not his sarcophagus; scholars think he appears prominently in the sculpture. Whether it is Alexander or not, it is a strikingly beautiful piece, with elaborately interwoven figures, whose movement you can almost see.

Another striking one is the so-called Sarcophagus of the Crying Women, of around 350 BCE. It depicts 18 mourning female figures on its sides, 6 on each of the long sides, 3 on each of the short ones.

The installations in the museum are excellent, and one in particular that we enjoyed was that of the sculpture from the frieze of the temple of Artemis Leucophryene (Artemis of the White Brows). One figure that particularly caught our eye was that of a Battle of the Giants, in which one of the figures is a man whose legs are twin serpents!

There was lots more, of course, including the head of one of the snakes from the Serpent Column, but we really did spend most of our time with the sarcophagi. And we haven’t yet said anything about the amazing Islamic Tile Museum in the same complex. So stay tuned!