ISTANBUL: Turkish Cargo, which serves 124 countries as the world’s fastest-growing air cargo brand, transported 186 historical works of art belonging to Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe and Topkapı Palaces to Tokyo for the Tulip Tradition in Treasures and the Ottoman Empire exhibition as part of the Turkish Cultural Year in Japan.
According to a statement by the national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), prior to the move on the Istanbul-Narita route, historical works exhibited at Dolmabahçe and Topkapı Palace were first packed with protective materials to preserve their original texture and structure and later placed in 56 highly secure wooden crates. The special flight was carried out by Turkish Cargo’s wide-body Boeing 777F aircraft due to the importance of the operation.
The pieces were taken abroad to be exhibited with the special permission of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Paying maximum attention to the transportation of the historical works, Turkish Cargo conducted this high-level operation with a team of historical art experts. With this successful operation, many artworks, including Suleiman I’s bed, Osman II’s kaftan and a ceremonial flask from Topkapı Palace, along with the Japanese embroidered Yusen Shippo vase that Japanese Emperor Meiji gifted to Sultan Abdulhamid, a wooden writing desk and a bamboo mirror from Dolmabahçe Palace, were transported to Japan.
A total 186 pieces, weighing about 8 tons, of great importance to Turkish culture and history, will be on display at the National Art Center in Tokyo until May 20 and at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto between June 14 and July 28.
