In this, the first book-length study dedicated to the examination of Ottoman/Turkish-inspired architecture in Western Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Nebahat Avcıoğlu emphasizes not divisions but the harmony of diversity in the matter of cultural boundaries. She considers turquerie, often reduced to the limits of exoticism, as an intercultural art form. By looking at previously neglected paintings, designs, and buildings, the author connects the West's interest in the Ottoman Empire to notions of self-representation and national politics. Turquerie and the Politics of Representation, 1728-1876, offers a comprehensive cultural interpretation of the art and architecture of this period, investigating what influences led Europeans to turn to Turks for inspiration and why.

Avcıoğlu examines three specific building types: pavilions, mosques, and hammams. She selects these from the first fully-fledged examples built in Western Europe and thoroughly researches the cultural politics of architectural forms and styles in these structures. According to the author, the assimilation of these building types was not accidental, nor does it merely demonstrate Europe's dominance over another culture. It was fundamentally a dialectical process that contributed to transculturation in both the West and the East.
(From the Promotional Bulletin)