CIGARETTE CASE
Engraved silver, early 20th century
Engraved silver, early 20th century
CIGARETTE CASE
Engraved silver, early 20th century
Engraved silver, early 20th century
L 99mm / l 78mm / e 7mm / wt 138g
The Zeppelin hot air balloon flies towards the rising sun, loaded with flowers. It carries the message “Long live the Constitution of 11 July 1908.” The 1908 Constitution opened a new era in the Ottoman Empire and the Zeppelin prefigured modernity.
The Constitution of 1908 seemed to launch a new era for all inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire, where there would no longer be any reference to the concept of nation or religion. The principles of “public participation” and representation set out in the National Constitution of 1863 paved the way for the adoption of the Ottoman Constitution of 1876, which inaugurated a constitutional monarchy.
In particular, it granted all subjects of the empire personal freedom, freedom of worship and freedom of press. All Ottomans were considered equal before the law. They had access to administrative positions in accordance with their skills and merit. Provinces were managed on the basis of decentralisation.