About the Collection

Sakıp Sabancı Museum Collection of the Arts of the Book and Calligraphy consists of illuminated Korans, prayer books, calligraphic compositions, albums and panels written by well-known calligraphers, illuminated official documents bearing the imperial cipher of the Ottoman sultans as well as calligrapher’s tools, all produced during a period extending from the end of the 14th century to the 20th century.

Sakıp Sabancı (d. 2004) started collecting primarily calligraphic works and illuminated Korans in the 1970s. From 1989 onwards the collection was exhibited in major museums abroad. The keen interest attracted by these exhibitions cemented Sakıp Sabancı and his family’s resolve to further enlarge the collection and encouraged the idea of founding a museum.

In 1998 the family mansion was handed over to Sabancı University for the purpose of converting it into a museum, and in 2002, with the addition of a modern gallery, the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum opened to the public. The exhibition spaces were enlarged in 2005, all within international technical standards.

Today, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum exhibits the Arts of the Book and Calligraphy Collection using current technical innovations, and with this innovative stand aims to inform the younger generation about this traditional art.

Do not miss this unique experience…

Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi

About the Collection

About the Collection

Collection