Clik here to view.
The fun of the fair
Good to be back at the Istanbul Art and Antique Fair. It's a quieter edition than usual. Timing is not ideal – half-term has seen a minor exodus of the fair's usual clients – but there are a few gems...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Walls and Beyond
The first artworks were created by our ancestors, touching their palms onto the walls of caves. Later, tapestries and wall hangings came to occupy a similar context. Created often by female artisans,...
View ArticleMinding their manners
Reviewed in the next issue of Cornucopia by William Kynan-Wilson is a facsimile of an extraordinary Turkish book of manners, Scenes from the 16th CenturyOttoman Empire I: Facsimile of Türkische...
View ArticleWeaving towers
Congratulations to the Argentinian designer Cristian Mohaded and his collaborators on winning Wallpaper's best new weaves award 2023 for his amazing installation Weaving Towers exhibited in Bodrm this...
View ArticleEmpires a Podcast
What better to do on a winter day than listen to this wonderful history podcast hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand on the subject of Empires. Among the many brilliant historians joining is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A feast for the senses
After a pandemic-induced three-year hiatus, Cornucopia Magazine is back at the London Art and Textile Fair (LARTA), one of the highlights of the winter edition of the London Decorative Fair at...
View ArticlePhilippa Scott (1946–2023)
It was with great sadness that I heard the news that my beautiful, intelligent, rebellious friend Philippa Scott had died. Her delicate Pre-Raphaelite looks belied a determined, fearless and...
View ArticleThere’s nothing like a rollicking evening’s jazz
Last Saturday I went to the Nardis Jazz Club in Galata to listen to the Turkish jazz singer Sibel Köse and her quartet. Having fortified ourselves with scrumptuous cakes at Şirin Fırın, a...
View ArticleThe tragic earthquakes
Our hearts bleed those who have lost family and friends in the dreadful earthquakes in Gaziantep and Kahramanmaraş earlier this week. The horror, the pain and the sense of utter helplessness are...
View ArticleFriends of Aphrodisias: an invitation
The Aphrodisias 2022 campaign un-earthed this marble portrait of a beautiful young priestess with an elaborate plaited hairstyle – buried in mysterious circumstances by the construction of a Dark-Age...
View ArticleBriony Llewellyn (1952–2023)
We write with great sadness of the sudden death of Briony Llewellyn, a dear friend to many and a notable contributor to Cornucopia. Briony's lifelong work on British artists in the Near and Middle...
View ArticleA rumbustious return
On Thursday 13th April I attended a concert at the Zorlu Center, Zincirlikuyu in which the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of the Italian conductor Carlo Tenan accompanied...
View ArticleSo many good concerts these days
On Thursday, April 20, I attended another concert at the Zorlu Center in Zincirlikuyu; this time, the works being performed were La tragédie de Salomé by the French composer Florent Schmitt, and Anton...
View ArticleRobert G Ousterhout
We are deeply saddened to receive news of Bob Ousterhout's passing on April 23, 2023,. Bob was quite simply one of the finest writers and arti historians that Cornucopia has ever had the privledge to...
View ArticleOpus Amadeus
On April 27 I attended a concert of chamber music at the Naval Museum in Beşiktaş. This event was part of a music festival organised by an outfit that goes by the name of ‘Opus Amadeus’ in conjunction...
View ArticleClassical kaleidoscope: bring on the 2023 Istanbul Music Festival
Summer is here again (or so they tell me), and the İKSV Istanbul Music Festival is once again rearing its beautiful head. Here is a brief guide to what’s on offer. The proceedings kick off with an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Opposites attract: the spectacular legacy of the godfather of all East-West...
Walking into the British Museum’s latest exhibition, Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece, one is struck by the incredible scope of the artefacts on display, ranging from modern-day Afghanistan to...
View ArticleThe remarkable Lucienne Renaudin Vary
On Monday, June 5 I attended a concert at the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy – one of the events of the 51st İKSV Istanbul Music Festival – in which the Borusan String Quartet were joined by Ms....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lieder to purr over: Matthias Goerne and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Chamber...
Festival feast: Matthias Goerne performing with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra at the Reşit Rey Concert Hall, June 9, 2023 (photos: Salih Üstündağ) The second of the events in the 51st...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Istanbul Modern reopens
Paris has its Centre Pompidou. There’s the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; in Athens, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). And now Istanbul, too, has a major...
View Article