The Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum is situated in Emirgan, one of the oldest settlements along Istanbul’s Bosphorus. 

The architectural project for the main museum building known as the Atlı Köşk [The Mansion with the Horse], was commissioned in 1925 by Prince Mehmed Ali Hasan of the Egyptian Khedive family to Italian architect Edoardo De Nari. Completed in 1927, the mansion served as a summer residence for various members of the Khedive family for many years.

In 1951, the industrialist Hacı Ömer Sabancı purchased the mansion, along with its valuable furnishings and antiques. During renovations of the mansion, in which he spent summers with his extended family, Sabancı acquired a bronze horse statue at an auction held at Mahmut Muhtar Paşa’s mansion in Moda in 1952, which he then placed in the garden. Cast in Paris by sculptor Louis Daumas, this statue would give the mansion its name. The second horse statue on the mansion’s grounds is a cast of one of the four horses originally taken from Istanbul’s Sultanahmet Square during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 and placed in front of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

Following his father’s death in 1966, Sakıp Sabancı and his family moved into the Atlı Köşk in the 1970s. He expanded the mansion’s collection of furniture and antiques, acquiring Ottoman manuscripts, calligraphic works, and oil paintings from the late Ottoman and Republican periods, establishing a significant collection. In 1998, the Sabancı family donated the mansion, along with its collections and furnishings, to the Sabancı University to be transformed into a museum.

With the addition of a modern gallery, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum opened to the public in 2002. In 2005, exhibition spaces were expanded and upgraded to meet international technical standards. Today, the museum offers a comprehensive experience of museology through its permanent collections, extensive temporary exhibitions, conservation unit, exemplary educational programs, and a wide range of concerts, conferences, and seminars.
 

SABANCI UNIVERSITY SAKIP SABANCI MUSEUM IS A POINT OF MEETING WHICH OFFERS TRANSFORMING CULTURAL EXPERIENCES.

In our physical and digital venues, we offer OPEN TO ALL, MULTI-SOUND, BEYOND BORDERS and BEYOND DISCIPLINES.

It believes in the multiplying power of interaction between individuals and cultures; We create areas of continuous interaction between GLOBAL, REGIONAL and LOCAL CULTURE AND ART HERITAGE.

It cares about preserving, researching, developing and interpreting our collections and the INTEGRATED ART HERITAGE OF OUR COUNTRY; We create COMMON VALUE together with all our stakeholders in our CURRENT EXHIBITIONS and events.

Acting in unity with Sabancı University in the fields of RESEARCH, EDUCATION and TECHNOLOGY, we offer INNOVATIVE and CREATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES for everyone.