Kubadabad Palace

Kubadabad Palace
Great Palace (top) and Small Palace (bottom) of Kubadabad
General information
TypePalace
LocationLake Beyşehir, Turkey
Coordinates37°44′36.5″N 31°26′21.4″E / 37.743472°N 31.439278°E / 37.743472; 31.439278
Construction startedEarly 13th century
OwnerTurkish state

Kubadabad Palace or Kubad Abad Palace (also spelled:Qubadabad Palace) (Turkish: Kubadabad Sarayı) was a complex of summer residences built for sultan Kayqubad I (1220–1237), ruler of the Sultanate of Rum. The palace is located on the southwestern shores of Lake Beyşehir in south-west Central Anatolia, Turkey, just over 100 kilometers west of the Seljuq capital at Konya.

Site

The site was formerly only known from the descriptions of the contemporary historian Ibn Bibi, who wrote that toward the end of his reign, Kayqubad himself drew up plans for the palace and assigned responsibility for its completion to his vizier Sa'd al-Din Köpek.[1] The palace remains were discovered in 1949 and subsequently excavated, first in the 1960s by German archaeologist Katharina Otto-Dorn and more recently by a team from Ankara University led by Rüçhan Arık.[2]

The complex comprises sixteen buildings, including two palaces, the larger of which is known as the Great Palace and measures fifty by thirty-five metres. Among its features are a game park and a small wooden dockyard that replicates the Tersane at Alanya.[1] The Great Palace is an asymmetrical structure incorporating a courtyard, guest rooms, a harem and eyvan. It is remarkable for its ornate figural tiles, and its innovative layout, modeled on the caravansarai, reflects a break with the traditional pavilion structure that characterised earlier palaces.[3]

Kubadabad Palace is unusual for a Seljuq palace in that its location is so far from a fortified town, in contrast to palaces at Konya and Kayseri. Protection seems to have been provided by a fortress complex located on the nearby island of Kız Kalesi.[4] Other ruins in the area include the important Hittite site of Eflatunpınar.

Tiles

Excavations at Kubadabad Palace uncovered a magnificent series of polychrome ceramic tiles now held in Konya's Karatay Museum. Painted with an underglaze of blue, purple, turquoise and green, the series consists of white, star-shaped figural panels alternating with turquoise crosses. Similar tiling has also been found on the Roman theater at Aspendos, which Kayqubad had converted into a palace. The subjects of the tiles include humans, and animals both real and fantastic. Of particular interest are two tiles thought to show a portrait of the sultan[7] and another showing a double-headed eagle inscribed "al-sultān." The same symbols appear on other works sponsored by Kayqubad, such as the city walls of Konya.[3]

Human figures

The figural tiles are decorated with court scenes representing the sultan, harem women, courtiers and servants.[8][9] The Sultan and palace notables are shown sitting cross-legged in Turkish style.[10] Most of the time they hold symbols of eternal life in their hands, such as pomegranate or opium branches.[10]

  • Conversation between two individuals. Small Palace of Kubadabad (1220s)
  • Tile with standing man holding a pomegranate. Late 1220s
  • Man holding two fishes

In 2012, a few enturbanned and bearded figures were discovered in the Small and the Large Palace, whose physical type is quite different from that of the other Turkic-style figures. They appear either holding pomegranates or offering inscribed tablets. The artistic quality is a bit inferior to that of the other tiles. It is thought that these figures represent high-ranking members of the palace or intellectuals.[11]

Mythological animals

Other tiles represent hunting scenes, and imaginary or magical animals related to the figural art of the Seljuks.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Aslanapa 1971, p. 163.
  2. ^ "Kubadabad Sarayi". ArchNet. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Redford 1993, p. 221.
  4. ^ Redford 1993, p. 220.
  5. ^ Özel, Mehmet (1986). Traditional Turkish Arts: Tiles and ceramics. General Directorate of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture and Tourism,Turkish Republic. p. 15. Kubadabad tiles consist of panels of figural tiles linked by cruciform tiles decorated with arabesques. The figural tiles are decorated with figures of the sultan, harem women, courtiers and servants. However, the most interesting figures are the various animals related to hunting and the imaginary or magical animals. Such creatures as the sphinx, siren, single and double-headed eagles, single and paired peacocks, paired birds flanking the tree of life and dragon create a magical world of the imagination. They are all symbolic representations of the rich figural world of the Seljuks. Animals related to hunting, such as the fox, hare, wolf, mountain goat, wild ass, bear, lion, falcon, hawk and antelope are in widely varying and highly artistic compositions.
  6. ^ The Art and architecture of Turkey. New York : Rizzoli. 1980. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-0-8478-0273-9. Usually made in the underglaze technique, the star tiles contain an extremely rich figural design, depicting the sultan, the elite of the palace and animals of the hunt as well as imaginary or so-called 'fabulous' animals. (See figural reliefs and sculptures, p. 171.) The sultan and the palace notables, including in some cases the palace women, are shown sitting cross-legged in the Turkish tradition. In most cases, the figures hold in their hands a symbol representing eternal life-a pomegranate or opium branch or an astrological symbol like the fish. It is interesting to note the parallels with the same motifs in Anatolian Seljuk architecture.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  7. ^ Aslanapa 1971, p. 273.
  8. ^ a b Özel, Mehmet (1986). Traditional Turkish Arts: Tiles and ceramics. General Directorate of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture and Tourism,Turkish Republic. p. 15. Kubadabad palace, of the famous Sultan Alaed- din Keykubad (circa 1236 ). They are now on display in the Karatay Madrasa Museum, Konya. Kubadabad tiles consist of panels of figural tiles linked by cruciform tiles decorated with arabesques. The figural tiles are decorated with figures of the sultan, harem women, courtiers and servants. However, the most interesting figures are the various animals related to hunting and the imaginary or magical animals. Such creatures as the sphinx, siren, single and double-headed eagles, single and paired peacocks, paired birds flanking the tree of life and dragon create a magical world of the imagination. They are all symbolic representations of the rich figural world of the Seljuks. Animals related to hunting, such as the fox, hare, wolf, mountain goat, wild ass, bear, lion, falcon, hawk and antelope are in widely varying and highly artistic compositions.
  9. ^ Duggan, Terrance M. P. (2018). "The Just Ruler of the Age – Exhibiting Legitimacy for Rule through Visual Representation, as in the Written and Inscribed Record: On the Meanings Conveyed by the Creatures Depicted on 8-Pointed Tiles from Rūm Seljuk 13th c. Palaces, Pavilions and Bath-Houses: The Jinn". Journal of Interdisciplinary Mediterranean Studies: 390.
  10. ^ a b The Art and architecture of Turkey. New York : Rizzoli. 1980. pp. 175–176. ISBN 978-0-8478-0273-9. Usually made in the underglaze technique, the star tiles contain an extremely rich figural design, depicting the sultan, the elite of the palace and animals of the hunt as well as imaginary or so-called 'fabulous' animals. (See figural reliefs and sculptures, p. 171.) The sultan and the palace notables, including in some cases the palace women, are shown sitting cross-legged in the Turkish tradition. In most cases, the figures hold in their hands a symbol representative of eternal life-a pomegranate or opium branch or an astrological symbol like the fish. It is interesting to note the parallels with the same motifs in Anatolian Seljuk architecture.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  11. ^ YAVAŞ, Alptekin; KOÇYİĞİT, Oğuz. KUBAD ABAD: Beyşehir Gölü Kıyısında Bir Selçuklu Sitesi (in tu). Konya Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları. p. Fig.90. ISBN 978-605-389-619-7. In previous years, we had encountered figures with beards, moustaches, turbans, and holding pomegranates or goblets in the underglaze star tiles found in the Great and Small Palace excavations and the Malanda Kiosk surface surveys 658. It was suggested that these figures, which looked different from the others with their elaborate clothes and turbans, could be portraits of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. However, as mentioned above, as the excavations continued, other similar examples were found. With their identified characteristics, it is more likely that they are depictions of high-ranking members of the palace or important wise people. Four arms of the octagonal tile piece in the underglaze technique that we unearthed in the 2012 Great Palace excavations were broken, and the other four arms and a significant portion of the cross-legged figure on it remain (Fig. 90). This figure also has a beard and a turban on his head. He has the same portrait characteristics as the previous male figures. (...) The collar, long sleeves and the edges of the combs of the dark blue caftan are animated with thin white stripes to create liveliness in the garment. (Fig. 90) The figure not only directs his head and gaze to the inscribed tablet he holds in his right hand, but also turns his body slightly to the right, extends his left arm and places his hand on his right knee. It is clear that with this movement he wants to draw attention to the inscribed tablet and convey something. Again in 2012, during the excavations in the southwest corner of the Small Palace, broken tiles were found thrown under the ramparts. Among them, in a very damaged and broken under-glaze tile, in the space just above the knee of a figure who is understood to be sitting cross-legged, a plaque with two lines of writing attached to a thick string like a bow attracts attention. The figure is trying to emphasize something important by pointing to the writings on the plaque with his index finger. We usually see cross-legged figures on tiles holding pomegranates, goblets, handkerchiefs and flowers. Figures holding written tablets were added to these for the first time in 2012. Despite the help of various academic experts, unfortunately the writings on these tablets have not been read and what they mean has not been understood.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  12. ^ Redford 1993, p. 231, Fig.10.

Sources

Further reading

  • Arık, Rüçhan (2000). Kubad Abad (in Turkish). Istanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası. ISBN 975-458-265-3.
  • Aslanapa, Oktay (1991). Anadolu'da ilk Türk mimarisi: Başlangıcı ve gelişmesi [Early Turkish architecture in Anatolia: Beginnings and development] (in Turkish). Ankara: AKM Publications. ISBN 975-16-0264-5.
  • Gierlichs, Joachim (2001). "In Memoriam Katharina Otto-Dorn: A life dedicated to Turkish Islamic art and architecture" (PDF). Electronic Journal of Oriental Studies. 4 (21): 1–14.
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