[VEXILLOLOGY / THE MIDDLE EASTERN GRAPHIC DESIGN / NATIONALIST SYMBOLS] [A rare print of proposed design for the national emblem of New Turkey in 1925, supplemented by Turkish Life magazine, designed by Turkish artist Namik Ismail]

ISMAIL, NAMIK (Turkish painter) (1890-1935).

Hayat Magazine, Istanbul, 1927.

Extremely rare chromolithographed print as a supplement of “Hayat Mecmuasi” No. 6 of 1927, including Turkish artist Namik Ismail's proposed design for the national emblem of New Turkey designed in 1925. This coat of arms depicts a white wolf that was part of the founding myth of the Ancient Central Asian Gokturk Empire. This white wolf is the symbol of the Pan-Turkism movement that aimed at unifying Turks across all nations culturally and politically. The ninth page of the periodical involved an article including a detailed description of this coat of arms.   

After the proclamation of the Republic, New Turkey did not have (and still does not) an official coat of arms. Instead, where the coat of arms is required, de facto (Turkish ID cards, passports, etc) a red crescent and star without a background is used. In 1925, the Turkish Ministry of Education announced a competition, and it was won by the artist Namik Ismail among 70 artists participating in the competition.

“Till this day the country of Turkey has not had an official Coat of Arms but in 1925, the Ministry of National Education held a contest for a national emblem. Namik Ismail, a painter, won the contest with his coat of arms depicting Asena, a mythological female wolf in the founding myth of the Ashina Clan which ruled the Göktürk Empire.” (Turkish Times). Underneath there was a grey wolf, connected to Oghuz Turkic mythology, standing on a spear. The shield was surrounded by a garland of wheat and oak leaves, with a medallion depicting the Ottoman alphabet letters ‘T’ and ‘C’ for Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, Republic of Turkey. Above the shield was placed a lit torch, symbolizing the country's independence. The emblem was never officially adopted. 

Namik Ismail (1890-1935) was a Turkish Impressionist painter and art educator, who received his training in France. In 1911, he was admitted to the Académie Julian and later found a position in the workshop of Fernand Cormon. However, he found himself more attracted to Corot and the Barbizon school, as opposed to Cormon's Academic style. He went home for a vacation but was unable to return to France due to the outbreak of World War I, and served briefly in the Caucasian Campaign. He was mustered out after contracting typhus.

In 1917, he had his first showing at the "Galatasaray Exhibition" and was awarded a silver medal. Shortly thereafter, he helped establish a workshop in Sisli, together with Ibrahim Çalli, Sami Yetik, Ali Sami Boyar, and others, who became known as the "Çalli Generation". He also traveled to Berlin to exhibit with Celal Esat Arseven, where they stayed for two years, working with Lovis Corinth and Max Liebermann.

In 1925, the Ministry of National Education held a contest to design a new Turkish coat of arms. İsmail won the contest, with an escutcheon that included Asena, a she-wolf from the folktales of the Göktürks, but the design was never used. (Wikipedia).

We couldn’t trace any copies in WorldCat.