"May my children and those who come after me benefit from these books."
More than three centuries after those words were inscribed on a heart-shaped foundation seal, they have found new life in "The Seal of the Heart: The Manuscript Collection and Family Legacy of Reisülküttap Hacı Mustafa Efendi," now on view at Istanbul's Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.
The exhibition brings together manuscripts, seals, geometry notebooks and family heirlooms that had long been kept in different collections. Rather than displaying the objects separately, it reunites them to tell the story of a Kastamonu family and its cultural and intellectual heritage spanning more than 300 years.
A general view of "The Seal of the Heart: The Manuscript Collection and Family Legacy of Reisülküttap Hacı Mustafa Efendi" exhibition, Istanbul, Türkiye, July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ayşe Sena Aykın)
One thing I particularly liked about the exhibition was how naturally it fit into the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. Surrounded by centuries of Islamic art and craftsmanship, the collection feels as though it belongs there, making the visit even more enjoyable.
