Back	At the Ottoman Bank Museum: Objects and Rituals "The Significance of Jewels from the Renaissance to the Present" Objects and Rituals, the new lecture series organized by the Ottoman Bank Museum this season, focuses on the involvement of art in everyday life and on the interaction of culture with perceived reality. On Wednesday, December 22, at 6:30 p.m., Prof. Gül İrepoğlu will be joining us with a presentation titled, "The Significance of Jewels from the Renaissance to the Present". In this slide illustrated lecture, Prof. İrepoğlu will trace, through relevant images of the ornaments discussed, the evolution of jewelry from the Renaissance up to our days. The study of jewels, the most sophisticated objects reflecting the lifestyle and aesthetics of a society at any point in time, can provide a number of insightful glimpses into the socio-historical context of the period where they were conceived. In her lecture, İrepoğlu will also take up the tradition of precious gems during Ottoman times and discuss jewelry as an indicator of the Empire's power and identity. Prof. Gül İrepoğlu was born in Istanbul, in 1956. After graduating from the School of Architecture at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, she entered the Ph.D. program and served as a teaching assistant in the department of Aesthetics and History of Art at the Faculty of Literature of Istanbul University. In 1997, she was made full professor in History of Art at Istanbul University where she currently teaches "Renaissance Art", "Baroque Art", "19th Century European Art", "Art in the Era of Westernization", "Comparative Art History", and "Ottoman Miniature Art". Gül İrepoğlu has written several books including, Gölgemi Bıraktım Lale Bahçelerinde, Feyhaman Duraman, and Levni, Nakış-Şiir-Renk. She has also co-authored Padişahın Portresi, Tesavir-i Al-i Osman ("The Imperial Portraits"). A full program of lectures is offered by the Ottoman Bank Museum under the general heading, Voyvoda Street Lectures. This season, a lecture is presented every Wednesday on one of 4 main themes - music and politics, objects and rituals, economic history, and Istanbul. The Making of Modern Turkey Seminars, organized by the Museum in association with Boğaziçi University, are held every third Saturday of the month.