Byzantine Period Bronze Reliquary Crosses in the Collection of the Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum
Feride İmrana SıddıkiKuva-yi Milliye Museum is located on Anafartalar Street in Balıkesir. The building was used as a headquarters during the national struggle. It has been functioning as a museum since 1996. Relics, in the Christian belief, are the remains of the holy people, especially Christ, such as teeth and bones. On the other hand, the reliquary is the name given to the objects in which the remains of persons such as Christ, saints which are considered sacred in Christianity, or the objects they came into contact with while alive are placed. A group of relics, which are grouped according to their forms, is composed of reliquary crosses. This kind of reliquary are small boxes in the form of a cross and combined with a lock system. Within the scope of this study, eight reliquary crosses registered in the Archaeological Artifacts inventory of Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum were introduced. The reliquary crosses acquired were brought to the museum through purchase. Five of the reliquary crosses are complete and the parts of three are missing. Crosses are generally in good condition. The works are remarkable in terms of style, composition, and iconography. There are depictions of “Christ on the Cross”, “Mary Blachernitissa” and saints on the crosses. The reliquary crosses in question were made in the casting technique and they were decorated by engraving and relief technique. Considering the similar examples of crosses, the 9th-12th of the works is understood that they were produced over the centuries. The article also includes the catalog information of the crosses.
Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Müzesi Koleksiyonundaki Bizans Dönemi Bronz Röliker Haçlar
Feride İmrana SıddıkiKuva-yi Milliye Müzesi, Balıkesir’de Anafartalar Caddesi üzerine konumlandırılmıştır. Yapı, milli mücadele sırasında karargâh olarak kullanılmıştır. 1996 yılından itibaren müze olarak işlev görmektedir. Rölik, Hristiyan inancında, başta İsa olmak üzere kutsal kişilerden geriye kalan diş, kemik gibi kalıntılardır. Röliker ise Hristiyanlıkta kutsal sayılan İsa, aziz ve azizeler gibi kişilere ait kalıntıların ya da hayattayken temasta bulundukları nesnelerin konulduğu objelere verilen isimdir. Formlarına göre gruplandırılan rölikerlerin bir grubunu röliker haçlar oluşturmaktadır. Bu tür rölikerler, haç formunda olup kilit sistemiyle birleşen küçük kutucuklardır. Bu çalışma kapsamında Balıkesir Kuva-yi Müzesi Arkeolojik Eserler envanterine kayıtlı olan sekiz adet röliker haç tanıtılmıştır. Söz konusu röliker haçlar müzeye satın alma yoluyla kazandırılmıştır. Röliker haçların beşi tam olup üçünün aksam ve parçaları eksiktir. Haçlar genel anlamda iyi durumdadır. Eserler, üslup, kompozisyon ve ikonografik açıdan dikkat çekicidir. Haçların üzerinde “Çarmıhta İsa”, “Meryem Blakhernitissa” ve aziz tasvirleri yer almaktadır. Çalışma kapsamındaki haçlarda üç farklı üslup ve kompozisyonda betimlenmiş İsa ve iki farklı üslup ve kompozisyonda Meryem Blakhernitissa figürleri tespit edilmiştir. Söz konusu röliker haçlar, döküm tekniğinde yapılmış olup üzerleri kazıma ve kabartma tekniğinde süslenmiştir. Haçların benzer örnekleri göz önüne alındığında eserlerin 9.-12. yüzyıllar içinde üretildikleri anlaşılmaktadır. Makalede haçların katalog bilgilerine de yer verilmiştir.
Balıkesir is located in the northwest of the Anatolian Peninsula in the west of Turkey, an important part of it is located in the South Marmara and the other part in the North Aegean. The region where Balıkesir is located is known as Ancient Mysia. The history of Balıkesir goes way back. Traces of the Bronze Age (3200 BC) were found in the Yortan excavations in the region and the Paleolithic period in the İvrindi excavations. The first inhabitants of the Mysia Region were the Thracian tribe Mysians who entered through Thrace and the Straits. The region later passed into the hands of the Hittites, Phrygians, Alexander the Great, the Kingdom of Pergamon and the Romans and Byzantine Emperors. With the conquest of Anatolia by the Seljuks in 1071, the region was also Turkified. Karesi Principality was founded by Karesi Bey in the 1300s. Karesi Principality joined the Ottoman lands in 1345.
Kuva-yi Milliye Museum is located on Anafartalar Street in Balıkesir. The building was built in 1840 as the mansion of Giridizade Mehmet Pasha, the treasurer of Karesi sanjak. It was used as headquarters during the national struggle. It served as the town hall between 1947-88 and it has been used as a museum since 1996. The museum has two floors, the ground floor consists of Atatürk room and Kuva-yi Milliye halls. On the second floor, there are archaeological artifacts. Approximately 25000 works of study are preserved in the museum collections.
The relics in the Christian belief are the remains of the holy people, especially Christ, such as teeth and bones. Relics of martyrs, i.e. religious martyrs, have an important place in the early Christian period. With the end of the persecution ofChristians in 312, various types of relics emerged. Bishops, parish priests, and hermit monks have accepted martial remains as primary relics. Items belonging to the time of Christ, parts of Mary’s clothing were considered as secondary level relics. It is accepted that there are 3600 relics belonging to approximately 476 saints in the capital Istanbul. Relics have been introduced since the foundation of the city.
The relics is a sacred object in Christianity. It is the name given to objects of various forms in which relics of persons such as Christ, saints or objects that came into contact with them during their lifetime, are preserved. Relics were produced in many different types and sizes during the Byzantine time. In early Byzantine period relics are in the form of small sarcophagi made of marble or stone, or in the form of small boxes in the form of square, rectangular, oval, made of precious metals. Such crosses are small cruciform boxes that are joined together by a small lock system consisting of two parts. It was carried at chest level by hanging it on the neck with a metal or leather strap attached to the hanger ring on the upper cross arm. It was believed that reliquary crosses were carried by individuals in the form of encolpion on their necks, and that they protected them from diseases, evil and the evil eye due to their direct connection with holy persons. The bones of the saints or the parts of the real cross in the relics were thought to protect the individuals who carried it from all kinds of evil.
Reliquary crosses were widely used in the Middle Byzantine period and it became an official part of religious dress in the 12th century. The reliquary crosses in museums and collections are produced between 10th-12th centuries.
Within the scope of this study, the form, production and decoration techniques were examined in terms of style and iconography of the themed scenes on eight bronze reliquary crosses during the Byzantine Period in the collection of Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum. Photographs of the works were taken, their measurements were taken and their drawings were made. Since the reliquary crosses were brought to the museum through purchase, the exact location of the finds is not known.
Within the scope of this study, the form, production and decoration techniques were examined in terms of style and iconography of the themed scenes on eight bronze reliquary crosses during the Byzantine Period in the collection of Balıkesir Kuva-yi Milliye Museum. Photographs of the works were taken, their measurements were taken and their drawings were made. Since the reliquary crosses were brought to the museum through purchase, the exact location of the finds is not known.
