Ali Cemal was the designer of the 1934 100 Kurus silver coins.
He submitted his work to the contest organized in 1934 for the new coins with the new alphabet. Although his models initially won second place in the jury’s decision, they were also sent to the capital for further consideration. Eventually his models were used for the 100 Kuruş pieces.
Nermin Faruki is among the first women sculptors of the Turkish Republic(*1). She submitted models for the coin design contest of 1934 and after the competition ended, she criticised the selected designs for not being contemporary. Her and Artist Ali Cemal’s comments were published in the newspapers of the period.
She attended Arts School for Girls (İnas Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, *16, p. 523, 546) and later Academy of Fine Arts. Continued her sculpture education in Germany, Berlin Fine Arts Academy. Her initial works show traces of German neo-Classicism, and various other trends at later stages. Her most prominent artwork is “the head of Sculptor Hadi”, on display at the Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture (IMPS) (*38, p. 110).
She was married to Nejat Sirel, who was also a sculptor himself. Their joint artworks are also displayed at IMPS.
As a result of the design competition for circulation coins of 1934, the jury awarded first place to Mesrur İzzet Bey for his effigy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and to Vedat Ömer Ar for his design of the 100 Kurus reverse.
After the announcement, two contestants, Nermin Faruki and Ali Cemal wrote to Cumhuriyet Newspaper and their statements and designs were published on 29/08/1934. Nermin Faruki was criticising the jury of not being contemporary enough, and Ali Cemal for his submission envelope being returned opened. Eventually Ali Cemal’s models were used for the silver 100 Kr pieces.
[1] İnas ve Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi’nin İlk Kadım Heykeltraşları – Derya Uzun Aydın, Turkish Studies; International Periodical For the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, Vol. 9/10 Fall 2014
