Page 228 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

Growing between the pedestals of the columns below are Among the smaller secular rugs produced in the court
sprays of carnations, tulips, roses, five-petaled blossoms, and workshops is a rectangular piece in a format identified with
other flora. The rectangular panel above the arches has a se- bookbindings, that is, a central medallion with corner quad-
ries of palmette crenellations interspersed with cypress trees rants enclosed by a frame (161). The composition of the field
flanked by naturalistic blossoms; seen behind the crenella- is an elaboration of that employed on the Vienna seccade;
tions above the central arch are four hexagonal buildings growing from each end toward the center are lush florals ex-
with ribbed domes. tending from a central row of hatayis, flanked by saz leaves
This exquisite seccade is decorated with a profusion of deli- and branches of blossoming fruit trees. These elements, joined
cate and harmoniously balanced curvilinear designs that rival to the central medallion, form a strong central axis and are
the saz drawings and illuminations of the masters working in flanked by repeats of the same configurations cut off by the
the nakka§hane. Its composition symbolizes the gardens of borders. Supplementing them are four sprays that grow in the
paradise, with perpetually blossoming spring flowers growing interstices, surround the central medallion, and join together
at its threshold. 117 The four buildings in the upper panel, pro- at the sides. The dark blue field, thus filled with a profusion
tected by a row of trees and palmettes, represent heavenly of saz elements, is accentuated by axial motifs that create
pavilions, possibly even the domiciles of the souls of the staggered horizontal formations. The central medallion has
righteous. Symbolizing the serene and exuberant beauty and sprays of tulips, rosebuds, hyacinths, and naturalistic flowers
the perpetuity of paradise, the seccade provides the proper and leaves radiating from a multipetaled blossom, placed on a
setting and mood for prayer. red ground. One quarter of the same medallion appears in
The theme of paradise gardens is even more evident in the the corners.
second type of prayer rug, with an abridged version of the The red-ground border follows the reciprocal design seen in
mihrab niche, a lobed arch at the upper corners, and quarter the prayer rugs with branches bearing alternating peonies and
medallions at the lower corners. The most spectacular exam- hatayis flanked by saz leaves or hyacinths, tulips, carnations,
ple in this series is the one in Vienna (160), its field densely and roses. The stylistic features of this example, such as the
covered with a variety of floral elements. Its border is identi- density of the design and the abstraction of the motifs, sug-
cal to the columned examples in Kuwait and the Metropoli- gest that it is from a slightly later period than the prayer rugs,
tan Museum, using the same motifs and color scheme. and was produced toward the end of the sixteenth century.
The ruby-red field is decorated with a symmetrical compo- Dating from the same period and possibly manufactured in
sition that sprouts from the base and contains a central row the same workshop is a larger all-wool rug in the Metropoli-
of hatayis surrounded by overlapping, intersecting, curving, tan Museum of Art that displays an expanded version of the
and twisting saz and naturalistic elements. The spandrels at composition with additional axial elements and medallions. 119
the top are filled with rumi scrolls and cartouches. These car- Another small secular rug, its format even more closely re-
touches as well as the flowers in the field are cut off by the lated to bookbindings, was woven entirely of wool (162). Its
frame, extending the design beyond the borders. Cloud bands red field is covered with horizontal rows of ivory balls alter-
with rumis fill the quarter medallions in the lower corners. nating with yellow-outlined green wavy lines, creating an
Traditional rumis and cloud bands used in the spandrels abridged çintemani pattern. The lobed blue central medallion
and lower corners provide a contrast to the saz elements em- with trefoil pendants encloses a large rumi cartouche, flanked
ployed in the field and border, which in turn are contrasted by sprays of blossoms overlapped by leaves in the saz fash-
by the naturalistic blossoming branches and sprays incorpo- ion; the cartouches and sprays grow from a hatayi, providing
rated into the design. The composition, with its almost over- a direction to the otherwise overall design. The articulated
whelming efflorescence, recalls the equally dazzling designs corner quadrants do not repeat the design of the central me-
employed in the tiles of the period, particularly the famous dallion but bear rumi cartouches and scrolls on the same blue
panel from the portico of the Mosque of Rüstem Pa§a, datable ground.
to 1561 (see fig. 25). 118 The red border has two superimposed scrolls, one with ha-
There are two other almost identical seccades; one is in the tayis and the other peonies, creating a flowing rhythm
Walters Art Gallery and the other was formerly in the Mc- around the comparatively static and directional field. The
Mullan collection. Although the field in these examples fol- ivory guard stripes, bordered by thin bands (the outer of
lows the design and color scheme used in the Vienna rug, which is missing), contain a scroll with yellow and red
their borders differ. The Walters piece has a cloud-scroll band blossoms.
with hatayis and naturalistic flowers, interspersed with car- This example belongs to a group of four identical rugs. The
touches, and the other has a narrower frame with a different existence of a series of matching rugs is unusual and suggests
type of hatayi scroll. These two examples must have used the that they were mass-produced for export in a noncourt work-
same cartoon for the field but relied on other designs for the shop, either in the capital or in one of the provincial centers.
borders.

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