The Turkish Centennial Lecture—Turquerie: Ottoman–European Cultural Exchanges in the 18th Century

Nebahat Avcıoğlu, Associate Professor of Art and Architectural History, Hunter College, City University of New York As a category both visual and political, the “Turk” was constructed during the 18th century amidst increasing trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchanges between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. The European portrayal of the Turk in playful, antagonistic, or innocuous terms across cultural practices and artistic media from architecture to porcelain, music, and drawings created a genre later known as turquerie. This talk examines both canonical and lesser-known examples of this visual production across various historical contexts in order to understand the phenomenon as a particularly rich case of European self-representation through the Other. This annual lecture series highlights Ottoman and Turkish art and its global reach. The series is made possible by The Turkish Centennial Fund. Subscribe for new content from The Met: