There is no information about the donor. It is presently exhibited in Kuşadası, in the Association of Turkish refugees from Thessaloniki and other locations in the broader Rumeli (Kuşadası Selanik Mübadilleri ve Rumeli Göçmenleri Derneğ).
Keys: on locking up one’s past life
The refugee family of the “Mübadil” (Exchange) that took the key of their home or shop with them was, in fact, making two statements. Firstly, that whatever that key unlocked, be it a building, the gate of a fence, or even a chest too big to carry had a rightful owner. It was a way to declare “This has been ours”. A locked item is not there for the taking and any attempt to force the lock open makes one a thief and squanderer. Secondly, and most importantly, it can indicate the owner’s intention to someday return. It was, in fact, a promise to oneself that, no matter how things looked, no matter what the newspapers and the State leaders said, this life was not over and one day it would be reclaimed.
It was never reclaimed. A mixed Greco-Turkish committee undertook the Herculean task of assessing and liquidating the abandoned properties-a process that dragged on until 1925. The values of Greek and Turkish estates were then counterbalanced, and each Government issued a multitude of decrees in order to somehow compensate the rightful owners.
Whenever a house is sold and bought, the new owner is handed, not just the signed legal forms, but also the keys to his new home. In reality, the property never moves at all. It is the keys that change hands. Every time we feel our pockets to check if our house keys are still there, we are, in fact, reaching for a miniature version of the house itself. Do we still live there?
Every key is a metaphor, a signifier of the object it unlocks-an office building, a motor engine, a diary. The key is the password, the “open sesame” that grants access to a specific thing, its content denied to any other. The key’s dented edge points at the owner like an arrow.
In music theory the scale that forms the basis of a music composition is called a key. In magic, the Kabbalistic grimoire that is said to contain King Solomon’s spells is called “Key of Solomon” (Clavicula Salomonis). Any wizard (or witch) who holds Solomon’s Key can unlock the secrets of summoning angels and demons.