The Passionate Story of a Museum Director: Alexander Sarcophagus
An inquisitive museum director's superior endeavour and sharp mind change the history of archaeology!
In 1887, an archaeological excavation was started in Lebanon with the permission of the then Sultan Abdulhamid II and under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey. Osman Hamdi Bey, an art historian and painter, took an active role in these excavations with his broad intellectual knowledge and interest in art history, and brought the Alexander Sarcophagus, one of the most precious artefacts in human history, to the world. His sensitivity in the excavations of the work and his devotion in bringing it to Turkey proves the importance of this work.
Osman Hamdi Bey, who watched with a broken heart the looting of the silver, gold and jewellery weapon representations on the sarcophagus by thieves while it was being brought from Lebanon to Istanbul and the destruction it suffered while trying to be opened, wanted the sarcophagus to be moved to Istanbul as soon as possible. With the decline of the Ottoman Empire, there was a cultural destruction and plunder in the geographies where the greatest civilisations of human history were located. For Osman Hamdi Bey, artefacts could only retain their true value when they were passed on to the next generation, and the artefact had to come under state protection as soon as possible, its essence had to be preserved. When this 25-tonne artefact was carried aboard the ship, rumours were rife on board. "How right was it to carry such a heavy and ominous tomb?”
It would bring bad luck to the ship and moreover, the ship, unable to support its weight, would sink. Upon these rumours, Osman Hamdi Bey, relying on the authority given to him by the state and his madness like every artist, chains himself to the sarcophagus and asks the Sultan for a railway line. The sarcophagus received the attention it deserved from the moment it arrived, and since the Tiled Pavilion, which was used as a museum at the time, could not accommodate the sarcophagus, the Archaeological Museum was built by Alexandre Vallaury, the famous architect of the period. The story of the sarcophagus turns into a world-famous rumour and of course the visitors also change. The archaeological world is ready to do anything to take this majestic story to their own museums. But Osman Hamdi Bey will not allow this. The German Emperor Wilhem II is aware of this sarcophagus like the rest of the world and wants to see it. Because he knows that the Sultan will present this sarcophagus to him as a favour. The request of the emperors has never been refused in any period of history. Wilhem starts to visit the museum and his eyes search for the sarcophagus. Osman Hamdi Bey is aware of the visit. At the time of the visit, he shows a brilliant mind and gives the sarcophagus a disreputable appearance, covering its columns and stone carvings with mats. When he is asked about the sarcophagus, he mentions that it is an insignificant and destroyed artefact and that it has been repaired. Thus, the emperor continues on his way, unaware of the existence of the sarcophagus. Watching the sarcophagus, the journey of which is as magnificent as the journey itself, will turn you into a part of a journey in time, to be fascinated and to see the most valuable work of the elegance of human history engraved in stone.
This giant work of world history is still waiting for its guests today at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum thanks to the outstanding efforts and labour of Osman Hamdi Bey.