In 2006, within the buildings of Matbah-ı Amire ( (Dolmabahçe Palace Kitchens) situated towards Beşiktaş, in order to gather and to protect in a modern depot the objects that remain close in the depots of Dolmabahçe Palace and that the visitors are unable to see in the inspected places of the palace, it was decided to constitute a depot-museum.
 
Within the scope of this project, first af all the Depot-Museum that was formed by the transportation to this place approximately 20.000 objects, was also open to visitors. But, as the exhibition capacity was not enough, “Palace Collections Museum” project, that would contain museum, art gallery and depots, was established in order to be able to exhibit many examples of all the collections found in the depot unities. This project covered in priority, the spaces that were used before as offices and depots of the Matbah-ı Amire set of building, by a total restoration, the whole space of 2000m² was put to use within Palace Collections Museum.
 
To use in the exhibition arrangement and to present the visitors with the objects as much as possible, 28 modern museum show-rooms, a space for the exhibition of kitchen tools and open exhibition platforms are constituted.  Exhibition show-rooms, were formed of materials of high resistance to outdoor impacts and of steel carrier systems and coating in order to exhibit the heavy and large objects and to ensure the impermeability of air and dust. As regards the inside coatings of the show rooms, according to the international museum standards panel and  cloth coating applications were realized, as to the show room glasses special laminated glass was used to ensure the protection of the objects and to give them the right perspective.
 
 
MUSEUM EXHIBITION COLLECTION
 
The main theme of the Palace Collections Museum, first of all Dolmabahçe Palace, is to bring into light the objects and to make them open to the visitors, which were used in 19th century Ottoman palaces in daily life and which are found in the inventory of National Palaces. With the objects exhibited in the Palace Collections Museum, it is destined to procure the traces that could explain to the visitors the daily life in the Palace in 19th century.  All the works of art found in the museum, are the products, the original examples of a period where Ottoman palace followed closely the developments worldwide. The Collection is constituted, besides the objects used in Dolmabahçe Palace, of the art works witnessing the last 70 years of the Ottoman Empire in Aynalıkavak, Küçüksu, Ihlamur, Maslak Summer Palaces and Beylerbeyi and Yıldız Palaces.
 
The sources of the art works exhibited in this museum are various. Among them, besides the objects ordered for the palace in or out of the country, you can also notice various objects brought to the palace as presents. Also you can find various pieces produced especially in the palace’s carpenter’s shop intrinsically. In the Palace Collections Museum art works are exhibited under certain subject titles: Palace Child’s dresses, Sultan Dürrüşehvar, Furniture, Calligraphy art and Writing Sets, Porcelain,  Embroidered Art works, Silver Set of Table linens, Crystal Set of Table linens, Hereke Factory, Lighting, Heating, Health and Industrial Tools, Paintings, Watches and Music Instruments, Books
 
Among the exhibited art works, there exist a huge collection  formed of dresses, toys, handyworks used by princes and princesses, writing sets, seals, writing tools, examples of writing sets used in Meclis-i Mebusan and the first TBMM, medecine chest and medecines, rhumatisma choc tool, dentist’s unity , silver shaving sets belonging to emperors, cleaning and  care tools belonging to the mother of  reigning sultans, crystal, porcelain, silver sets of table,  crystal offering sets, hand writing Kuran-Kerim, perception bags,  embroidered prayer rugs and covering cloths, kitchen tools, hereke carpets, yıldız porcelain goods, watches, faience stoves, industrail tools, books from the palace’s library painting tools belonging to califat Abdülmecid Efendi, paintings in oil paint, lighting tools, decorative tools and candle holders.
 
In Palace Collections Museum, a selection of 5.000  works of art reflecting the whole collection and selected among about 43.000 historical objects found in the depot section. The entry of the museum welcomes the periodic exhibitions as an art gallery. The collection section is arranged as the selected art works welcome the visitors in the conception of permanent museum. In the depot section of Palace Collections Museum, that is the last section, all objects are stored with modern technology and are upkeeped periodically. Also this section remains open to the use of experts and researchers.
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