Auction donates revenue of some artifacts to Soma

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

The auction will offer 653 artifacts from the Ottoman and European times to sale. Revenues of 10 artifacts will be donated to the families of Soma victims.

The revenues from the auction that will be held by Istanbul’s Çukurcuma Auction Culture and Arts House will be donated to the families of miners who died in the Soma mining disaster last week.

According to a statement made by the auction house, artifacts from the Ottoman Empire and different eras from Europe will be auctioned on May 25 at the Çırağan Palace.

The founder of the auction house, Muzaffer Gültekin, said they would like to support the families of the 301 miners. In the auction, the revenue of five Atatürk memorials, a silver spoon with a sultan’s signature, a silver jewelry box with a sultan’s signature, a silver mirror, an art-deco serving cart, a window box with a British tray, an Ottoman coffee table, a silver bath bowl, a Süleymaniye washbowl and water-can and a silver candle will be donated to the fallen miners’ families.

The artifacts will be auctioned through the sealed bid method, said Gültekin, adding, “We want to help people heal their wounds. We have been deeply saddened. Following the disaster, instead of cancelling the auction, we decided to support these people. We will transfer the revenues of 10 pieces from this auction to the aid campaign initiated by the Prime Ministry. We invite our art loving and benefactor citizens to support the cause.”

Hundreds of artifacts in the auction

In the auction, 653 artifacts will be on sale. An ancient dustpan collection, which is made up of 118 pieces will be presented for sale at 20,000 Turkish Liras and Sultan Reşad’s cane will be presented for 350,000 liras.

The shaving set of Sultan Abdülaziz, Sultan Mahmud II’s handwritten Besmele-i Şerif, Sami Efendi’s calligraphy, as well as many other displays of calligraphy by Kamil Akdik, Abdullah Zühtü and Macit Efendi, hilye-i şerifs, a handwritten Quran from the Mamluk era, Khedive medals, Ottoman textile products, European furniture and crystal objects, and medallions with the word for God inscribed in Arabic will be among the pieces on sale in the auction.

An ancient diamond necklace, produced by Armenian masters for the Şehzade Palace in Trabzon and owned by the Hekimoğlu family, will also be among the items that will draw interest.