Türkiye'nin ilk konservasyon laboratuvarı: Kimyahane

Abstract

Türkiye'de taşınabilir kültür varlıklarının bilimsel yöntemlerle restorasyon ve konservasyonun yapılması ilk olarak Erken Cumhuriyet döneminde gerçekleşmiştir ve bu konudaki araştırmalar oldukça kısıtlıdır. Osmanlı Devleti döneminde ise Müze-i Hümayûn'da Müze'deki eserlere yapılan onarımları inceleyen hiçbir çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bu tez erken Cumhuriyet döneminde İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri bünyesinde kurulan ve Türkiye'nin ilk konservasyon laboratuvarı olan Kimyahane'nin kuruluşu, çalışmaları ve kadrosunda barındırdığı uzmanları odak noktasına alarak, Osmanlı Devleti'nin son dönemlerinden itibaren bu topraklarda yapılmış ilk taşınabilir eser onarımı tarihini, bu onarımları yapan mekân, kişi ve kurumlar üzerinden ortaya koymayı ve koruma yaklaşımının yıllar içindeki değişimini-gelişimini aktarmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmanın ilk bölümünde tezin amacı, kapsamı ve araştırma yöntemlerine yer verilmiş ve büyük oranda arşiv araştırmalarına dayanan tezin ana çalışma kaynakları tanıtılmıştır. Bu kaynaklar özetle İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri arşivi, Koç Üniversitesi, Suna Kıraç Kütüphanesi'nde bulunan Hadi Tamer Belgeleri Koleksiyonu, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi'nde bulunan Aziz Ogan Koleksiyonu, İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri Yıllıkları, İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri'nde Asurolog olarak çalışmış Fritz Rudolf Kraus'un "Dreizehn Jahre Istanbul (1937-1949) Der deutsche Assryriologe Fritz Rudolf Kraus und sein Briefwechsel im türkischen Exil" ismiyle yayımlanmış mektupları, Kimyahane'de çalışmış eski uzmanlar ve ailelerinin arşivleri ile Berlin Devlet Müzeleri Merkez Arşivi'dir. Tezin ikinci bölümünde Müze-i Hümayûn'daki ilk restorasyon faaliyetleri incelenmiş, restorasyonların nitelikleri Satrap Lahdi onarımı üzerinden değerlendirilmeye çalışılmıştır. Ayrıca arşiv belgelerine dayanarak onarımların yapıldığı ilk mekânlar ve onarımları gerçekleştiren kişiler ortaya konmuştur. Onarımlarla ilgili olarak Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi ile Müze-i Hümayûn işbirliği anlaşılmaya çalışılmıştır. Müzenin ilk onarımlarını gerçekleştiren Heykel Atölyesi'nin çalışmaları ve uzmanları tanıtıldıktan sonra Mimarlık Atölyesi ile ilgili bilgiler verilmiştir. Tezin üçüncü bölümünde Türkiye'nin ilk konservasyon laboratuvarı olan Kimyahane'nin kurulduğu dönemde devletin kültür ve eğitim politikası mercek altına alınmıştır. Bu amacı gerçekleştirmek için Erken Cumhuriyet döneminde kültür ve eğitim politikalarını etkileyen iki önemli olay olarak Türk Tarih Kurumu'nun kuruluşu ve Atatürk'ün Üniversite Devrimi incelenmiş, devletin kültür politikasının bir ürünü olarak Kimyahane'nin kuruluşuna giden süreç aktarılmıştır. Bunun yanında Kimyahane binasının yer seçimi ve mimari özellikleri ile ilgili bilgiler verilmiştir. Kimyahane'nin kuruluş döneminde yöntem ve cihazlarda baskın etkisi olan Alman ekolü ile Friedrich Rathgen ve onun kurduğu Berlin Kraliyet Müzeleri Laboratuvarı'na yönelik bilgiler bu bölümde verilmiş, Kimyahane ile Berlin Kraliyet Müzeleri Laboratuvarı arasındaki ilişki ortaya konmaya çalışılmıştır. Kimyahane'nin yürüttüğü konservasyon çalışmaları, laboratuvarda hâkim olan çalışma yaklaşımı ve bünyesinde barındırdığı uzmanlar tezin dördüncü bölümünde yer almaktadır. Kimyahane'nin kuruluşunda büyük etkisi olduğu düşünülen İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, Çivi Yazılı Kil Tablet Koleksiyonu'nda bulunan tabletlere uygulanan restorasyon ve konservasyon yöntemleri bu bölümde anlatılmaktadır. Kimyahane'nin ilk konservatörü Kimyager Nurettin Akbulut ve Kimya Yüksek Mühendisi Hadi Tamer ile ayrıntılı bilgilere bu bölümde yer verilmektedir. Bu bölümde son olarak Kimyahane'nin İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri'nden ayrılmasına yönelik girişimler aktarılmış, Kimyahane'nin son dönemleri ile ardılı olan İstanbul Restorasyon ve Konservasyon Merkez Laboratuvarı'nın kuruluşuyla ilgili bilgiler verilmiştir. Tezin sonuç bölümünde öncelikle Müze-i Hümayûn döneminde eserlere yapılan onarımlar kısıtlı bulgular üzerinden değerlendirilmeye ve Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi öğrencileri ile Müze-i Hümayûn'da onarımları gerçekleştiren ekip arasındaki bağlantı anlaşılmaya çalışılmıştır. Sonuç bölümünün devamında İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri bünyesinde tesis edilen Kimyahane'nin kuruluşunda ve ilk kurulduğu dönemde kullandığı yöntemlerde Alman etkisi irdelenmiştir. Ayrıca Kimyahane'de çalışan uzmanların nitelikleri ve eğitimlerine paralel olarak kullanılan yöntem ve benimsenen yaklaşımın zaman içindeki değişimi analiz edilmiştir ve Kimyahane'nin Türkiye'de konservasyon biliminin gelişimine katkıları incelenmiştir. Kimyahane'nin hizmet verdiği dönemden başlayıp günümüze kadar Türkiye'de koruma alanında varlığını sürdüren ve olumlu-olumsuz değişimler gösteren bazı sorunlar üzerinde durulmuş ve bu sorunlara çözümler aranmaya çalışılmış, son olarak da Kimyahane'nin güncel durumu hakkında bilgiler verilmiştir.

estoration and conservation of artifacts based on scientific and modern methods had started in the early republican period in Turkey and the researches about the studies and methods used in this era are quite limited. In addition, there isn't any study about the maintenance of the artifacts in the Imperial Museum (Müze-i Hümayûn) during the Ottoman Empire. This study focuses on the establishment, works and experts of the first conservation laboratory of Turkey, which was called the Kimyahane (The House of Chemistry) and was set up during the early republican period as part of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. With this focus, it aims to reveal the restoration history of artifacts in Turkey through the institutions, experts and places that implemented these restorations from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. The first chapter of the thesis gives information about the aim, scope, research methods, and several archives which are the main resources of this study. These archives are the archive of Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Hadi Tamer Documents Collection in the Suna Kıraç Library of Koç University, Aziz Ogan Collection in the Boğaziçi University, Annuals of Istanbul Archaeological Museums, the book about the letters of former Assyriologist of Istanbul Archaeological Museums Fritz Rudolf Kraus as "Dreizehn Jahre Istanbul (1937-1949) Der Deutsche Assryriologe Fritz Rudolf Kraus und sein Briefwechsel im türkischen Exil", private archives of the former experts and their families of these experts worked at the Kimyahane, and the Central Archive of Berlin State Museums. In this sense, it is necessary to give some more information about a few of these archives. The first one, archive of Istanbul Archaeological Museum, is an unclassified archive which was quite difficult to work and to find the relevant documents. But the archive contains very significant data about the experts, events and the past of the Museum. Hadi Tamer Documents Collection was also unclassified before this thesis. During this research the author of the thesis shared her view about the importance of Hadi Tamer's life and contributions to the conservation science in Turkey with the authorities in Suna Kıraç Library which holds these documents. Also, this collection contains unique and different documents from Istanbul Archaeological Museum's archive. In consequence the library decided to keep and classify all the related documents as part of their archives and share with the researchers. Thus, Hadi Tamer Documents has been classified and used for this research for the first time ever. Another significant source for this research is the correspondences of Assyriologist Fritz Rudolf Kraus with Professor Benno Landsberger and other colleagues. His letters which was written when he worked at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum between 1937-1949 were gathered from Leiden University Library, edited and published in 2014 by Dr. Jan Schmidt. Fritz Kraus worked with the first chemist of Kimyahane, Nurettin Akbulut, as he catalogued and recorded the Cuneiform Clay Tablets Collection of the Museum. During his works Nurettin Akbulut had restored the relevant tablets for him. Kraus gives very detailed and interesting information about Kimyahane, Nurettin Akbulut and Istanbul Archaeological Museum in his letters. Professor Benno Landsberger was living in Ankara and as a world famous Hititologist at Faculty of Language and History-Geography in Ankara University, he was a very important actor in the Turkish cultural politics. Their correspondences also show the cultural politics through the eyes of two German experts in Turkey in early republican period and shares with us unknown details of the recent past. The second chapter of the thesis studies the first maintenance/repair works on the artifacts of the Imperial Museums and tries to evaluate the interventions made to the artifacts by the experts of the 19th century through the restoration of Satrap Sarcophagus, using it as a model. During the restoration works on Satrap Sarcophagus, the investigations of experts from Central Laboratory of Conservation and Restoration in Istanbul has revealed the consciousness of interventions of Oskan Efendi, first official restorer of the Imperial Museum, and his team. In the 19th century while repairing the sarcophagus, the heavily damaged parts were completed with plaster without giving a conjectural shape if not predictible, and the parts like egg friezes, whose shapes are known, were completed in accordance with their forms. This way of intervention gives some idea about the repair/maintenance approach of the team. After examination of the other artifacts came from Saida Excavation, there might be more information about the approach of 19. century experts. This chapter also gives information about the first repair/maintenance ateliers/workshops and experts of the Imperial Museum and in the light of archival documents, it tries to reveal the collaboration between the Imperial Museum and the Imperial School of Fine Arts about restoration works of artifacts, that had been made by the students and teachers of the school. After giving information about the works and staff of the first repair atelier of the Imperial Museum, which was called Statue Atelier at the time, it also deals with another workshop of the museum, namely the Architecture Atelier. The third chapter concentrates on the cultural and educational politics of the Turkish Republic during the establishment period of Kimyahane in the 1930s. Atatürk's University Revolution and the foundation of Turkish Historical Society (TTK) are two important issues to understand the cultural and educational politics of the era. The chapter studies the setting up process of Kimyahane as a product of cultural revolution, and evaluates the effects of academics, who were exiled from Germany, on the cultural politics of Turkey. Additionally, the chapter has details about the location and architecture of the Kimyahane building. Firstly, the plan was to establish a chemical laboratory in a room in the Museum of the Ancient Orient (Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi). But later it was decided to transform an out of use and ruined old bread bakery building in the first courtyard of Topkapı Palace from late 17th century to a bigger chemistry laboratory to conserve the artifacts. The masjid part of the relevant building was restored and opened as the first conservation laboratory of Istanbul Archaeological Museum in September 1, 1936. This chapter also gives information about the methods and instruments of the German approach in Kimyahane during its establishment period. For this reason, Friedrich Rathgen and the Laboratory of Berlin Royal Museums has been examined and the collaboration between Kimyahane and the Laboratory of Berlin Royal Museums has been investigated. In this context the correspondences of Assyriologist Fritz Kraus were used as a source of information to understand the restorers of the Laboratory of Berlin Royal Museums who were tried to be transferred to Kimyahane. The letters of Kraus also shed light on the effects of the experts in Berlin on the works of Kimyahane and the traces of the laboratory in Berlin on the conservation methods used in Kimyahane. The concentration of the fourth chapter is the conservation practices, working approaches, and experts of Kimyahane. Restoration of Cuneiform Clay Tablets Collection of Istanbul Archaeological Museums in the early 1940s played an important role during the foundation of Kimyahane and some details about this historical restoration have their place in this chapter. In the restoration of the Cuneiform Clay Tablets in the Kimyahane, the methods applied by Friedrich Rathgen in the Laboratory of the Berlin Royal Museums were carried out. According to this method, the tablets, which were determined to be water resistant, were first kept in pools filled with water, then slowly dried in drying ovens and finally fired in muffle ovens. This chapter gives also information about the expansion works of the L-planned old bread bakery building of Kimyahane, by the financial support of Museum in 1942-1943. After moving the Statue and Photography Ateliers in this building Kimyahane took its final form. In addition, the first conservator of Kimyahane, Chemist Nurettin Akbulut, and Chemical Engineer Hadi Tamer has been introduced with their professional lives and works in this section as the two pioneer experts in the early period of Kimyahane. The chapter also deals with the separation attempts of Kimyahane from Istanbul Archaeological Museums in 1940s ve 1960s and the foundation of Central Restoration and Conservation Laboratory in 1985 as its successor. The last chapter begins with considerations about historical restorations in the Imperial Museum and the connection between the restoration team in the museum and the students of the Imperial School of Fine Arts. Afterwards, the chapter emphasizes the qualifications of the experts of two important restoration ateliers of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, the Statue Atelier and the Chemistry Laboratory, and it underlines their contributions to the conservation science. This chapter also evaluates the German impact and the use of German based methods in Kimyahane during its foundation period. In addition, it discusses the change of approaches in the laboratory over the years in terms of the qualification of experts and intervention methods. It also analyses the contribution of Kimyahane in the development of conservation science in Turkey. The chapter gives also some information stating the problems relating to the conservation approaches in the period beginning with the establishment of Kimyahane and stretching to the recent years, with the attempt to offer solutions to the current problems in Turkey. Last chapter also lays stress on the importance of specialization in the field of conservation and compares the situation between the past and present. The background of the idea of establishing a central restoration institute has been evaluated in this section as well. The chapter also allows for the recent state of Kimyahane with information about unethical and unscientific restoration project of Directorate of National Palaces since 2019 in the Kimyahane building. According to some unconfirmed information, the Directorate of National Palaces has decided to functionalize the Kimyahane building as the bread bakery which was used in the Ottoman Empire period of Topkapı Palace without paying regard to the chemistry laboratory and demolishing its structure completely. In the context of this restoration decision all the furniture, equipment, facilities and baking-drying ovens of the cuneiform clay tablets have been removed from the building. The building itself has also extensive changes in its form and plan. One of the most unacceptable intervention of this project is in the so-called Masjid Room, which was done by filling the gaps of aspiration system in the wall under the workbench. This aspiration system was working as the discharge of polluted air from the Masjid Room to the outside of building. The system was hidden under the workbench and it was not possible to see it while working on the bench. Probably during or after finishing the restoration work the experts must have made the aspiration on to discharge the polluted chemical air from the room to outside. This was a very unique facility of the conservation laboratory from 1930s and probably one of the world's first examples of this kind of a system in a conservation laboratory. Unfortunately, during the restoration of National Palaces this important device has been lost forever. There may be more inconvenient interventions in this project which is in the area of responsibility of not only the National Palaces but also Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and this project is now erasing this institution from the urban's memory. If the Ministry of Culture and Tourism would have done the essential repair and maintenance to the Kimyahane building on time, possibly recent restoration project would not be needed. In spite of all these negative situations going on in Kimyahane building, it is the author's hope that this thesis would contribute to keep the Kimyahane free from being erased out of the memories of humanity as an institution that was created and kept alive with great devotion and experience in the past.