Door Ring, Knocker and Mirrors in Bursa/Cumalikizik Houses
Zerrin Köşklü, Nur Yağmur BüberCumalikizik, which was a residential area with village status until 1987 on the northern slopes of Uludag in Bursa, was connected to the Yıldırım District centre as a neighbourhood after this date. Bursa and Cumalikizik were on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Cumalıkızık maintains its feature of being the earliest surviving Ottoman village and the best-preserved originality. Cumalikizik, one of the important centres of cultural tourism today, continues to attract attention with its residential area, historical texture, and especially traditional house in this texture.
Within the scope of the study, the rings and knockers on the doors of 135 houses in Cumalikizik Village were determined by scanning the area, and 66 rings and 40 knockers were examined. These are classified into main and sub-types as rings, mallets and mirrors. Door rings in Cumalikizik houses have a circular form and are jazzed up with different decorations on their mirrors. On the knockers defining the doors of the homes, there are three different types: C-shaped, U-shaped, and L-shaped. The most common type among these, C-shaped knockers, is remarkable with its interpretation seen in mirrors as a musanna of the word “Allah” or as a design written “Mashallah”. The widespread use of rings and knockers in Cumalikizik houses, their form, material, and technical features are a continuation of a tradition that was imported from Europe at the beginning and later localized, especially in the XIX century examples.
Bursa/Cumalıkızık Evlerinde Kapı Halka, Tokmak ve Aynaları
Zerrin Köşklü, Nur Yağmur BüberBursa’da Uludağ’ın kuzey yamaçlarında 1987 yılına kadar köy statüsünde bir yerleşim bölgesi olan Cumalıkızık, bu tarihten sonra mahalle olarak Yıldırım ilçe merkezine bağlanmıştır. 2014 yılında Bursa ve Cumalıkızık Unesco Dünya Miras Listesine alınmıştır. Cumalıkızık, günümüzde erken tarihli ve özgün bir Osmanlı köyü olma özelliğini korumaktadır. Kültür turizminin önemli merkezlerinden biri olan yerleşim alanı, tarihî dokusu ve bu dokuda özellikle geleneksel evleri ile ilgi çekmeye devam etmektedir.
Çalışma kapsamında Cumalıkızık Köyü’nde bulunan 135 evin kapısı üzerindeki halka ve tokmaklar alan taraması yapılarak belirlenmiş, günümüze ulaşan 66 halka ve 40 tokmak incelenmiştir. Bunlar halka, tokmak ve aynaları olmak üzere ana ve alt tiplere ayrılarak gruplandırılmıştır. Cumalıkızık evlerinde kapı halkaları daire şeklinde bir forma sahip olup aynalarındaki farklı bezemelerle hareketlendirilmiştir. Evlerin kapılarını tamamlayan tokmaklarda ise C biçimli, U biçimli ve L biçimli olmak üzere üç tip belirlenmiştir. Bunların içerisinde en yaygın tipi oluşturan C biçimli tokmakların aynalarında görülen düzenlemenin “Allah” lafzının müsennası ya da “Maşallah” yazılı bir tasarım olarak yorumlanması dikkat çekicidir. Cumalıkızık evlerinde halka ve tokmakların yaygın kullanımı, biçimseli, malzemesi ve teknik özellikleri başlangıçta Avrupa’dan ithal edilen kalıpların daha sonra yerelleştiği bir geleneğin devamı niteliğinde ve daha çok 19. yüzyıl örnekleri olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır.
Cumalikizik, which was a village in the east of Bursa until 1987, is a residential area that has been brought to the status of a neighbourhood affiliated with the Yıldırım District centre after this date. Bursa and Cumalikizik were on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. It preserves its feature of being the earliest Ottoman village that has survived to the present day and the best preserved its originality.
In this study, the rings, and knockers, which attract attention with their functionality on the doors, as well as with their different types and decorations, are discussed in Cumalikizik houses. Rings and knockers, which are almost the sound of doors and combine the aesthetic understanding of the period in which they were built and the subtleties of socio-cultural life, continue to be used in Cumalikizik houses.
Within the scope of the study, the rings, and knockers on the doors of 135 houses in Cumalikizik Village were determined by scanning the area, and 66 rings and 40 knockers were examined. These are classified into main and sub-types as rings, mallets, and mirrors.
The 66 door rings found in Cumalikizik Village have a circular form and were made in the iron forging technique. Within the scope of the study, the rings are divided into two main types, the section of the ring is round, and the section of the ring is rectangular, and the body is twisted, and the body is determined by grooves. It has been seen that round-section rings are widely used in Cumalikizik houses.
The most distinctive features of the rings in terms of decoration are the mirrors. The main structure of the mirrors is divided into four main types of round, sliced, triangular and polygonal shaped, and subtypes as 4, 12, 13 and 14 sliced ones with sliced circumferences.
There are different decorations in the hole work technique on the 52 mirrors examined. They are grouped as circular interlaced, abstract leaf form, Rumi-palmette motif, and keyhole. A decoration in the form of oval interlocks formed between the concentric rings can be seen on the round-shaped mirrors. It is the most common type among Cumalikizik ring mirrors. A decoration consisting of holes resembling an abstract leaf form was applied to the other types of mirrors with a round shape. In the mirrors examined, the circle is the most common decoration after the inserts. Those with Rumi-palmette motifs and key-shaped holes are represented with a few examples.
Another functional and aesthetic element that defines the doors of Cumalikizik houses is the knocker. The hammers are made of brass, iron and sheet metal using the casting technique and, in a few instances, the forging technique. Embellishments made with the hole work technique were applied to the mirrors of the knockers.
Three main types of Cumalikizik knockers were determined as C-shaped, vertical U-shaped and L-shaped hammers.
In the first type, the outer frame of the mirrors gives an image defined by S - C curves, large at the top and smaller round protrusions on the sides. The inside of the mirror is five vertical rectangles in a row. This arrangement, seen in the mirrors, has also been interpreted as a musanna of the word “Allah” or a design written “Mashallah”. Among the knocker mirrors examined in Cumalikizik, this type was the most adopted. Mirrors of the second type are largely similar to those of the first type. Only their outer frame reminds us of a stylized sliced palmette form. A similar arrangement in the holework decorations of the mirrors can be thought of in the same way. Although the predominant use of these two types in Bursa and its environs points to a ramming development that became widespread and diversified with the Westernization period, it shows that it turned into a unique form and narrative by being reproduced with new patterns. In the scope of the study, the third type was the imperial style inspired closed palmette type, which is very common in Anatolia but less preferred in Cumalikizik. In the studied Cumalikizik houses, there are also examples of C-shaped knockers without volutes whose mirrors are determined by radial rods. Radial rods, which are widely used with different materials and techniques in 19. century imperial-style decorations have also taken their place in knocker mirrors with the same admiration.
The second type found in Cumalikizik houses in the form of the main body in the form of a U crowned with a crown with palmette motifs and folds in the middle with arms coming from both sides. Although it is not common in Cumalikizik, its examples can be seen in different regions and centres.
L-shaped hammers, another type of knocker identified in Cumalikizik, although one of the most common types in Anatolia, were rarely preferred in Cumalikizik.
The widespread use, form, material and technical features of the door rings and knockers of the examined Cumalikizik houses are the continuation of a tradition which was initially imported from Europe and later localized. The stylistic features seen in 18th and 19th-century Ottoman architecture and decoration show a similar development in rings and knockers, which are the metal sounds of the doors. However, the diversity seen in other regions and centres in the same period was either not created in Cumalikizik or its examples were limited. There is no date on the door rings and knockers of Cumalikizik houses that have survived to the present day. Additionally, Cumalikizik samples which use more traditional forms and mirror decorations, mainly date from 19. century, with later examples from the 20. century extending to the present day spanning a wide period.