Page 169 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

107. Inlaid wood throne, mid-sixteenth century (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi
Muzcsi, 2/2879)

inlaid with ivory, with silver used sparingly in the frame. The on separate areas of the hinges, a most ingenious and pleas­
composition of the inner faces recalls that of bookbindings, a ing device.
feature seen on several other rahles and writing boxes. 10 4 It is not surprising that the largest surviving group of inlaid
The outer surfaces of the lower panels are divided into four wood furnishings consists of Koran boxes, which were pre­
sections framed by silver-inlaid meander bands. The wide sented to mosques, medreses, and mausoleums and thus
central portion repeats the design used on the exterior of the carefully preserved through the ages. Some of these boxes
upper panels. The narrow oblongs above and below have were so highly regarded that they were removed from their
lobed ovals with mosaic lozenges and hexagons inlaid with original buildings and placed in newly-established edifices.
silver and white and green-dyed ivory. The lower section This appears to have been the case with a sixteenth-century
consists of lobed arches forming the legs, with triple balls in­ example (109), which was found in the library of the Aya
laid into the spandrels. The inner surfaces of these panels are Sofya Mosque built by Mahmud I more than two hundred
painted with an overall pattern of rumis, rendered n black years later. Unfortunately its patron and the building it origi­
i
on a golden-red ground. The hinges, painted with the same nally occupied were not recorded. This Koran box is one of
colors, bear triple balls set into lobes; the design becomes vis­ the earliest in the series, and contains an unusual and varied
ible only when the stand is opened, since its parts are painted decorative repertoire. Inlaid with ebony and ivory, it also

168