13.-14. Yy. Anadolu'suna Tarihlenen Kandil Ve Şamdanlarda Işık Sembolizmi

Abstract

Ortaçağ İslam düşüncesinde ışık sembolizmi ve geometrik motifler temelinden yola çıkılan aşağıdaki araştırmada, çağın (13. -14. yy.) aydınlatma araçları; kandil ve şamdanlar dekorasyonları nedeniyle ele alınmıştır. Bir başka deyişle, 13. -14. yy. Anadolu'suna tarihlenen kandil ve şamdanlardan, üzerlerinde geometrik motifler bulunanlar katalog kısmını oluşturmuş, burada yer alan geometrik ve figürlü süslemelerin ışık sembolizmiyle olan bağlan tartışılmıştır. Günümüzde, dünyada çeşitli koleksiyonlara dağılmış bulunan sözkonusu kandil ve şamdanların hemen hepsi Anadolu'daki tekke, türbe, medrese veya camiilerden getirilmişlerdir. Bu orijin birlikteliğinin yanısıra, şamdanlarda görülen diğer belirgin özellik ise hemen hepsinin aynı boy ve ölçülerde, aynı formda ve aynı ağırlıkta olmalarıdır. İlk bakışta göze çarpan bu özellikler, dekorasyondaki bütünlükte de kendini belli eder. Öyle ki, bu gruptaki şamdanların süslemesinde başlıca dört temanın; Oniki ayın işleri, Saray yaşamından sahneler; eğlence, taht ve av sahneleri, Astrolojik semboller ve Geometrik motiflerin yer aldığı görülür. Nerede ve kimin tarafından yapıldıkları belli olmayan bu şamdanlardan, geometrik rozetlere sahip olanlarının motiflerine göre bir katalogunun verilmesi araştırmanın başlıca sonuçlarından biridir. Diğeri ise, sözkonusu geometrik ve figürlü süslemenin Ortaçağ İslam düşüncesinde ışık sembolizmi çerçevesinde ele alınmasıdır.

In the Islamic art we come across with the pattern of "the suspended lamp in a niche", on various kinds of material. This pattern has been able to reach our age through reflecting "the Light Symbolism". Most of the mihrabs from Medieval Islamic Architecture frequently incorporate depictions of lamps, often flanked by candlesticks, and suspended beneath an arch. The composition is usually framed by inscriptions. Variations of this composition occur in many parts of the Islamic world, including Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Turkey, and they are known from the late eleventh century onward. Because flat mihrabs are sometimes located in the same position that niche mihrabs occupy in the qibla wall of a structure, scholars have associated them with the sacred focal point of the faith and hence with the act of submission in prayer. The lamps that are represented on them are assumed to be mosque lamps, also implying connections with prayer. References to the mysticism of Ghazali's "Mishkât al- Anwar" (The Niche of Lights) and to the "Ayât al-nûr" (the Light Verse, Qur'an 24:35) project a symbolic relationship between these compositions and the Light of God in the mosque. This relationship is based on the occurrence of the Light Verse on numerous actual lamps and on the supposition that flat mihrabs are representations of niche mihrabs in which such lamps are hung. The main goal of this research is to show the symbolic link between the decorations of the mosque lamps and the "Light Symbolism" in the 13 th- 14th centuries Islamic thought. It is not possible to understand the art without the spirituality or the spirituality without the art, and the physical and cultural context must facilitate this mutual understanding. Like Mevlâna and Arabi, Ghazali and other sufis greatly influenced the Islamic thought in Anatolia during Seljuk period. It can be said that, geometrical patterns of Islamic art were simply tools used in order to help flesh out a major theological concept about the nature of the universe and its relationship to God. Xlll On the other hand, Islamic geometrical patterns continue to be the subject of various studies attempting to explain its nature in aesthetic, mathematical, cosmological and mystical terms. Thus, in order to analyze the decorations of mosque lamps and candlesticks from Middle Ages Anatolia, it is essential to consider sufizm as a great source of light symbolism. It will be necessary to classify these lamps according to their decorations. As a consequence of this classification, mainly four themes can be noted which are: Labors of the Month, Astrological Symbols, Princely Scenes and the Geometrical Patterns. It has been found at the end of this studies that the lamps had some mutual characteristics such as in their forms, in the techniques that had been used as well as in their weight and in the patterns that had been used for decorating these lamps. Most of the candlesticks in the catalogue belong to a series of at least sixty examples that appear to have been mass-produced with identical shapes and sizes. Their decorative vocabulary utilizes a wide range of princely themes, astrological symbols, inscriptions, and floral and geometric motifs. The inscriptions do not indicate where or they were produced. Most of the candlesticks which have been chosen for the catalogue are belong to a group which was first seriously studied by D.S.Rice in 1954. On the basis of a quotation from al-Qazvini, iconographic parallels with Byzantine art and Limoges enamels, calligraphic parallels with Caucasian inscriptions, a Caucasian nisba and various other stylistic factors, Rice attributed the group to Azerbaijan in the II-Khanid period. Reviewing Rice's article in 1957, Henri Stern suggested that the vermiculated scrolls cited by Rice as indicating Limoges influence were in fact due to Georgian influence. Rice's attribution and dating were followed by Esin Atıl in her publication of two candlesticks in the collection of the University of Michigan, in 1972. In 1976, Melikian-Chirvani suggested in his labels for an exhibition of Iranian Islamic metalwork at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, that Rice's attribution might be incorrect. First because of the heterogeneous nature of the decoration, which cannot be paralleled in Iranian monuments of the period, but can in those of Anatolia. Secondly because all the candlesticks surviving in the Middle East were then in Anatolian collections. He also suggested various negative reasons for doubting their Iranian origin. XIV Subsequently, two other art historians produced articles independently showing the probability of an Anatolian origin for the candlesticks. The most thorough stylistic work on the candlesticks was done by Priscilla Soucek in her catalogue of an exhibition of Islamic art held at Ann Arbor in 1978. In her discussions she brought to light the following points and comparisons: certain close iconographic parallels with western Islamic ivories in the depiction of enthroned figures; parallels between drinking vessels depicted on the candlesticks and glass objects of 7th-8th/ 13th-14th century Syria; epigraphic parallels in the 7th/13th century carpets from the mosque of Ala al-Din in Konya and in tile work from 7th/ 13th century Konya and Akşehir; traces of the influence of late 6th/ 12th and early 7th/ 13 th century Jaziran painting in the portrayal of the seated prince and his standing attendants. She also suggested an easy explanation for a Georgian link, since there were a number of marriage alliances between the Seljuks and Georgians in the 7th/13th century, which could have brought Georgian cultural influences into central Anatolia. The same year J.W.Allan published a short note pointing ' out that the quotation from al-Qazvini cited by Rice had been mistranslated and was therefore irrelevant. These pieces were recently assigned to Turkey, more specifically to Konya, the capital of the Seljuks of Anatolia, to Siirt, a city in the southeast governed by Artukids until the fifteenth century. Whether or not they were all made in one location or were produced in a wider region encompassing southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq and Syria, and northeastern Iran cannot yet be determined. The candlesticks were carefully designed, with the surfaces divided in units of threes and fours and linked either by formal devices (such as continuous and looping bands or repeated patterns) or by the sequential development of the chosen themes or narrative cycles. There was a definite progression in "reading" the decoration, which was in the same direction as the inscriptions, that is, right to left, or in the case of objects in the round, counterclockwise. Animals and birds played an important role in the decorative repertoire and were used both as the main theme and as a part of the background. Certain motifs, particularly the lion and the eagle or hawk, were associated with royalty, while others had talismanic and protective attributes. Both real and fantastic animals were represented, including a variety of birds, four-legged predators with their prey, and such winged creatures as unicorns, griffins, harpies and sphinxes. XV Animals depicted in combat or ferocious birds of prey or lions attracting weaker creatures, symbolized imperial power. Among the most characteristic imperial themes was a hawk attacking a bird, enclosed within a roundel. Imperial themes such as, scenes depicting enthroned princes and courtly figures feasting and drinking while being entertained by musicians and dancers were fully developed by the thirteenth century. The decorative vocabulary included revelers holding beakers, surrounded by tall-necked wine bottles and bowls of fruit; musicians playing a variety of string, wind, and percussion instruments, such as lutes, harps, zithers, flutes, drums, tambourines, and cymbals; and hunters on horseback pursuing wild creatures, assisted by trained falcons an cheetahs. Astrological themes were second in popularity to imperial subjects, and many pieces were decorated with the personifications of the seven planets and the twelve constellations of the zodiac, depicted independently or in combination. There also existed cycles with the labors of the months or the heavenly bodies associated with the months. At times, incorporated into the decoration were select astrological symbols, such as the symbol of the moon represented either by a crescent or a figure holding a crescent, or by the pseudo planet Jawzahr, personified by a dragon. Geometric patterns, used either to fill in the background of the main themes or serve as independent motifs, utilize a variety of shapes, same of which can be associated with solar symbols. Among the most popular were designs radiating from central stars or rosettes, representing the celestial lights; and geometric roundels symbolizing the sun. Besides the four main themes mentioned above, floral themes were used also, both as background decoration and as individual motifs with symbolic meanings. Lancet leaves were associated with sun rays, whereas the rosette represented the sun. Often combined with related geometric motifs, these symbols of divine light were frequently applied to lighting devices, such as candlesticks and mosque lamps. In conclusion, it could be stated that the same kind of geometric motifs had been used constantly for decorating the candlesticks and mosque lamps of this period. Thus, the link between the geometric patterns and the light symbolism is underlined. When the link between the geometrical patterns and the light symbolism is regarded within the framework of Sufi philosophy the mutual characteristics of these patterns become significant. XVI This significance reveals the relationship between geometric patterns and figurative decorations. The princely scenes and astrological symbols used next to the geometrical patterns indicate that all of the above symbols have been used to symbolize the Holy Light. Thus, the frequent usage of the pattern "the Seal of Solomon", proves the relation between geometry and the light symbolism.