The Fruit Imagery Used In Kütahya Water Facility


The water of this construction which was, at one time, built to meet the water demand of people but is presently used as a water-tank with a fountain within the yard of Kütahya Grand Mosque was brought here by the Seljuk commander Hezar Dinârî (13th century). As can also be understood from the year 1765 available on the restoration inscription, two fronts of the structure were embellished in accordance with the related period’s sense of art. While the portrayals of fruit in a bowl (pears, apples, figs and pomegranates) on the south front of the water facility are placed between the water taps, the date tree branches extending out of a vase depicted on the west front are located in rectangular panels above the taps. The fruit respresentations frequently appear in architecture, miniature, calligraphy, handicraft labour and on tomb stones. The use of fruit representations in a bowl as a decorative element on fountains, on the other hand, began with İstanbul fountains by means of the Tulip Period style that became widespread as of 1730s. It is noteworthy that this style soon became effective in Kütahya too. This article aims to express the origin of the fruit imagery adorned in the water facility of Kütahya Grand Mosque, the symbolical meanings of the fruit used, the knowledge of where and since when similar practices had been performed as well as the place and importance of the depictions in the Turkish-Islamic art in this context.


Keywords


Kütahya Grand Mosque, water facility, fruit imagery, fountain.

Author : Semra Güler
Number of pages: 96-122
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/usved.23359
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