Page 247 - The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent

the known examples are in European museums. 59 Ceramic mosque lamps were nonfunctional objects and
Another series in this group of blue-and-white ware con- suspended in mosques and mausoleums to symbolize the ce-
sists of mosque lamps. Five of them share the same shape lestial light allegorized in the famous Koranic verse that lik-
and are fairly squat. Three were found in the Mausoleum of ens the light of the heavens to a mihrab in which there is a
Bayezid II, one comes from the Mosque of Sokollu Mehmed lamp. The production of these ceramic lamps appears to be a
Pa$a, and another is now in the British Museum. 60 sixteenth-century Ottoman phenomenon with very few ex-
A different shape with a high Oaring neck and a more amples dating from the later periods. More than a dozen
elongated body is seen on four other lamps: one of them was blue-and-whitc pieces are known to exist. 62 None are dated
found in the Mausoleum of Bayezid II, another came from in or inscribed with the names of their makers or patrons.
the Mosque of Sokollu Mehmed Paca, and two are in the The inscriptions on this lamp, as well as the others in the
British Museum. 61 Three of these contain panels on the body series, are puzzling with their repeated evocations of Ali, the
inscribed with the words "Allah, Muhammed, Ali/' and one fourth orthodox caliph and the founder of the Shia branch of
has no inscription panels on its body; the inscriptions on the Islam. The traditional inscriptions on mosque lamps were Ko-
necks of all four pieces vary. Although they were produced at ranic verses, particularly the Verse of Light, although Otto-
the same time and follow the same shape and proportions, man examples also use selections from the Hadis, the names
each displays a different composition. of the four orthodox caliphs, or the kelime-i tevhid (the profes-
The lamp found in the Mosque of Sokollu Mehmed Pa§a sion of faith). The repeated use of Ali's name on mosque
(166) has three lobed medallions on the neck interspersed lamps produced for Ottoman patrons, who were Sunni, not
with cloud bands. The medallions, which extend to the rim Shiite, has yet to be satisfactorily explained.
and neck with interlacing bands, are inscribed "ya emana ali, Another symbolic object with an equally problematic in-
keennebi allah ali, kulullah ali/' (Oh, trustworthy Ali; you, scription is a spherical ornament, which was used in both re-
the prophet of God, Ali; the slave of God, Ali) rendered in ligious and secular buildings. Identified as yumurda (egg) in
white kufi on a blue ground sprinkled with tiny blue dots. A inventories and lists of gifts presented to the sultan during
beaded band with surface gilding encircles the lower edge of bayrams, these spherical ornaments, executed in metalwork,
the neck. ceramics, possibly even in glass, were suspended over thrones
The inscriptions on the body, placed in three lobed rectan- or hung from the vaulted ceilings in ceremonial chambers,
gles that also extend vertically by interlacing bands, repeat mosques, and mausoleums, as represented in manuscript il-
the phrase "Allah, Muhammed, Ali," rendered in white sülüs lustrations. A number of precious metal pieces, some deco-
on a blue ground. Between the rectangles arc three small rated with gems, are preserved in the Hazine; others were
handles surrounded by cloud bands and quatrefoils; the in- found in mausoleums. The same ornaments were used in
terstices are filled by rumi scrolls. The lower portion of the churches, symbolizing universality and rebirth. The Ottoman
body has a wide zone decorated with a hatayi scroll. The foot examples appear to have more secular connotations, reflect-
contains a beaded band and a braid, both painted in reserve. ing imperial power and justice, similar to the orb. Ceramic
The white areas of the neck and body are sprinkled with balls are relatively few in number, with less than a dozen
minuscule triple dots. blue-and-whitc and polychrome examples known to exist.
The underside of the lamp is also decorated. Trefoils encir- One of the rare blue-and-white balls (167), a slightly flat-
cle the inner edge of the foot ring and a circular design ra- tened sphere in shape, has a nipple at the bottom and a hole
diating from an eight-pointed star appears at the base. All the at the top that served a dual function: it allowed air to escape
lamps in the series have radiating designs inside the foot ring. during firing and was used to attach a hook for suspension.
The same vocabulary, motifs cut off at the edges and triple The top has a blue frame around the hole, followed by a
dots filling the background, was used in the Louvre bowl; the blank white zone. A second zone, framed by beaded bands,
dotted grounds of the inscription panels re-create the effect of contains an elaborate foliated kufi inscription on a blue
the ring matting. The shape of the lamp also follows contem- ground with blossoms and triple dots sprinkled in the voids.
porary examples made of silver, copper, and brass. This shape The inscription, which has not been deciphered, contains sev-
was used in fourteenth- and fifteenth-century glass lamps eral vertical letters that terminate with large rumis. An abbre-
produced in Mamluk Syria and Egypt that may have served viated form of "Allah" appears above the letters. The zone at
as models for the Ottoman metal examples. the bottom, also painted in reserve, is divided into three sec-
The lamp, produced in the second quarter of the sixteenth tions by knotted bands that evolve from a star enclosing the
century, must have been transferred to the Mosque of So- nipple. Each has a crescent-shaped cloud band and central
kollu Mehmed Pa§a sometime after it was completed in 1571/ blossom flanked by rumis. The same abbreviated form of
1572; lamps contemporary with the mosque follow the style "Allah" appears in the bands between these sections.
of the period and are painted with polychrome colors includ- Another blue-and-white example has a totally different de-
ing the bright red (see 195). sign. It is decorated only with a band of sülüs inscriptions

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