Murals of The Mosque of Demirci Kupeler Village
As a result of the increasing relations of the Ottoman Empire with the West as of the 18th century, a new art environment was born, and a new type, called mural, emerged in the decoration art. This decoration approach, which primarily became popular in the palace and its environment in Istanbul, spread all over Anatolia in the course of time. Contrary to Istanbul, it is observed that, especially mosques were adorned with plaster and engravings in Anatolia. In these decorations, made by painted decoration masters or master groups, western influenced motifs as well as various religious and symbolic depictions were also included. Since many of these masters performing their art by traveling from village to village refrained from putting their signatures on their works of art, their names are generally unknown. However, it is possible to come across some masters’ names, though not many. In the Demirci Küpeler Village Mosque, which we studied, it is noteworthy that the names of the master builder, as well as the illuminator and calligrapher who performed the engravings, were given. Although the mosque has a plain exterior appearance, its interior is adorned with a rich painted decoration. Religious calligraphy scripts were also used along with decorations. In our study, the building is discussed in detail, with respect to its plan and characteristics.
Demirci Küpeler Köyü Camii Duvar Resimleri
XVIII. yüzyıldan itibaren Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun Batı ile artan ilişkileri sonucu yeni bir sanat ortamı doğmuş ve süsleme sanatında duvar resmi olarak anılan yeni bir tür ortaya çıkmıştır. Öncelikle İstanbul’da saray ve çevresinde karşımıza çıkan bu süsleme anlayışı, zamanla tüm Anadolu’ya yayılmıştır. İstanbul’un aksine Anadolu’da özellikle camilerin yoğun biçimde alçı ve kalemişi süslemelerle bezendiği gözlenmektedir. Kalemişi ustaları ya da usta grupları tarafından yapılan bu süslemelerde, batı etkili motiflerin yanı sıra çeşitli dinsel ve sembolik tasvirlere de yer verilmiştir. Köy köy gezerek sanatlarını icra eden bu gezici ustaların pek çoğu icra ettikleri sanat eserlerine imza atmaktan imtina ettiklerinden genellikle isimleri bilinmemektedir. Ancak az da olsa bazı usta isimlerine rastlamak mümkündür. İncelemiş olduğumuz Demirci Küpeler Köyü Camii’nde ise hem yapı ustasının hem kalemişi süslemeleri yapan müzehhibin hem de hattatın isimlerinin verilmiş olması bu açıdan dikkat çekicidir. Cami, dıştan basit bir görünüşe sahip olmasına rağmen iç mekânı zengin kalemişleri ile süslenmiştir. Süslemelerle birlikte dini içerikli hat yazılar da kullanılmıştır. Çalışmamızda yapı plan ve süsleme özellikleri bakımından ayrıntılı biçimde ele alınmaktadır
Styles such as baroque and rococo in Europe were effective in architecture and architectural decoration in the Ottoman geography after the middle the 18th century. The murals that first emerged and developed in the capital city, Istanbul, spread all over Anatolia, especially with the influence of the notable and gentry people, and different styles and concepts were developed in various regions of the empire. Contrary to Istanbul, it is observed that, especially mosques in Anatolia were predominantly adorned with plaster and painted decorations. In these decorations, made by painted decorations masters or master groups, western style motifs, as well as various religious and symbolic depictions, were included. Since many of these travelling masters, who performed their art by moving village to village, refrained from signing the works they created, their names are generally unknown. However, it is possible to come across the names of some masters, albeit rarely. Located in the village of Küpeler, after which it was named, in the Demirci district of Manisa, the old mosque offers interesting data with both the calligraphy plates encircling the prayer hall and the inscriptions that also involve the names of masters. Located on the upper part of the village on a fairly sloping terrain from west to east and south, the mosque consists of a longitudinal rectangular prayer hall and a narthex to the north. The prayer hall, with a longitudinal rectangular plan, is covered with a flat wooden ceiling. There is the women’s prayer area, which is carried by four wooden pillars to the north of the prayer hall. Intensive painted decorations and wooden decorations can be observed in the ceiling of the narthex, the women’s prayer area, ambo and minbar of the mosque. The plain wooden ceiling of the narthex was divided transversely with lath, and vivified by painting the interiors with different colours. The ceiling fringe is encircled with a strip, made of painted decorations, from three directions. The strip, featuring handmade successive floral bundles, ends with a blue outline at the bottom. The decoration program on the northern wall of the prayer hall is rather interesting. There is no certain pattern in the decorations. The calligraphy plates and motifs on the surface demonstrate a disorderly spread. There are calligraphies over the entrance, giving information on the construction date, restoration date and builders of the structure. These calligraphies are written within three circular frames with different sizes, and the space above these frames. The frames, that are not perfectly even, are outlined in navy blue. Flower bundles, coming out of vase, are depicted over the window apertures on the northern facet of the prayer hall. These bundles, with green leaves, have blue, clove-like flowers. A pomegranate tree with fruits is depicted on the area between the entrance and the window aperture to the east. One of the most remarkable decorations on the facet is the depiction of a halberd and a bowl hanged next to it at the bottom of the east side of the facet. This decoration which bears crucial importance, in terms of the dervish lodge iconography, is unfortunately not in a good state. The ship icon located at the upper side of the same area has more naive characteristics, while resembling other examples in Anatolia. A stanza, that is called devriyye, draws attention at the bottom of this ship figure which was able to stay in good state. The ship, which is on a blue strip symbolizing the sea, is made with a black contour, and the hull with the shape of a strip is coloured in green. Two wheels draw attention on the hull of the steam ship with three masts. Certain details, such as the red flags on the masts and the dark fumes coming out of the chimney, give a more realistic mood to the depiction. Two much smaller sized sailboats are depicted in the front and back of the ship. Painted decorations of various sizes and forms can be found on the prayer hall walls of the structure. The painted decorations continue with a total of eleven medallions on the eastern, western and southern walls of the prayer hall and the rosette on the south wall. The medallions are framed with blue and orange, and black calligraphies are placed on the white background in them. The space between the medallions, on the other hand, is filled with motifs of flowers coming out of vases of different types. There is a tasseled sword figure which gives the impression of being hung on the wall on the western wall right over the minbar. The body of the brown-hilted sword is of indigo color. The tree figures on the southern wall of the prayer hall are very interesting. A total of six tree motifs depicting olive, orange, cypress and date trees, four of which are in the upper section and two in the lower section, are placed on the southern part of the prayer hall. According to the inscriptions over the entrance, the building was built in 779/1377- 78, and then repaired in 1307/1889-90 by Hatip Ismail Efendi. The inscriptions also indicate that the construction master was a man named Kiymikci Mustafa, that the calligraphy writings in the mosque were made by calligrapher Mehmet Emin and the decorations were made by illuminator Mehmet, from the Sofiler Quarter of Demircili. The mosque, whose first construction was completed in the 14th century, was probably demolished to a large extent, and today’s mosque was built in the 19th century. The structure shows similarities especially with several mosques in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, in terms of inscriptions and decorations. However, the decorations are more simple and naive than those in other mosques. Another remarkable issue is that the names of both the master of the building, the illuminator and the calligrapher are given in the inscriptions of the mosque. We do not have detailed information yet about these masters, who adorned even a modest mosque in a small mountain village in the Inner Western Anatolia with such intense decorations and calligraphies, and who we think were affiliated to the dervish lounges operating in the region. However, further studies and field research to be conducted on this subject matter will allow us to reach new and interesting data.
