Dolmabahçe collections entrusted to eight experts

ISTANBUL

Dolmabahçe Palace, glamorously situated near the shore of the Bosphorus Strait, is home to a trove of 95,000 rare works of art. A team of just eight experts is responsible for maintaining and preserving it all, according to the National Palaces Administration.

“The average lifetime of the collection we have been entrusted is 150 years ... Beyond conservation, these pieces are put into the process of restoration when needed, for sure. But what our team is trying to do is to extend this [lifespan] to years as long as possible,” Yasin Yıldız, president of National Palaces Administration, told Anadolu Agency.

Valuable paintings, vases, glassware, furniture and textiles are among the treasures in the team’s care.

“The majority of the spaces in the palaces are generally located very close to the seaside. Thus, the effect of humidity on textile works is a very important problem,” Yıldız said.

The furniture collection includes works made in many various techniques and brought from several countries, he added.

The Dolmabahçe Palace, which was brought into use by the Ottoman dynasty in 1856, lies in an area of 15,000 square meters. The completion of the overall routine maintenance work in the palace takes about 45 days.