TILES RÜSTEM PASA MOSQUE
Rüstem Pasa Mosque stands in Tahtakale, one
of the traditional commercial areas of Istanbul. From the outside
this 16th century mosque makes little impact, hemmed in as it is
by commercial buildings from various dates. To increase its visibility
in this crowded district it was built above a ground storey consisting
of shops and depots. A flight of steps leads up into the courtyard
from the street, and there the shops and narrow streets are forgotten
as you confront one of Mimar Sinan’s greatest masterpieces.
The mosque was built in the 1560s by Mimar Koca
Sinan for Grand Vezir Rüstem Pasa, one of the most renowned
statesman of the period, yet it is of medium size and has a single
minaret. Strict protocol prevailed at the time and only the royal
mosques built by the sultans could have more than one minaret or
minarets with multiple balconies. Since Rüstem Pasa was almost
as rich and powerful as the sultan himself, how was he to reflect
this in the mosque he founded?
The answer to this question lay in the mosque’s
decoration. Mimar Sinan was an architect who avoided extravagant
decoration in his buildings. Even the Süleymaniye Mosque which
he built for Süleyman the Magnif-icent made re-strained, indeed
minimal, use of tiles. In Rüstem Pasa Mosque, however, the
walls and pillars are entirely covered with tiles up to the level
of the great arches. So many tiles were required that the celebrated
tile potteries of Iznik could not produce them in sufficient quantities,
and some had to be made at the potteries of Kütahya.
Rüstem Pasa Mosque has been damaged several
times over the centuries by fires and earthquakes, but each time
the tiles have been carefully replaced. The mosque was last restored
in the 1990s, when measures were taken to strengthen the bonds of
the tile panels, and errors made during previous repairs were corrected.In
the golden age of Ottoman tile making, a bright coral red and emerald
green were added to the traditional palette of turquoise and cobalt
blue.
The tiles of this period are also characterised
by the use of white paste and a high quality transparent glaze,
so producing a clear white ground against which the brilliant colours
glow vividly. The interior of this mosque is therefore a dazzling
riot of colour and pattern.
Most of the tiles have infinitely repeating patterns,
combining the highly stylised motifs of earlier centuries with the
more naturalistic floriate designs which emerged in the mid-16th
century. The loveliest examples of this new style of decoration
are to be seen on the tiles of Rüstem Pasa Mosque. The traditional
motifs, too, are used in new compositions, such as spiralling rumî
scrolls sometimes, or several combined together to form larger motifs.
One tile panel unique to this building is decorated in the so-called
saz style of the transitional period leading up to the naturalistic
movement. This is characterised by feathery lanceolate leaves which
seem to waft in the breeze as you look at the panel.
The borders which frame both the infinitely repeating
designs and the large panels have a fascinating array of designs.
Some combine tulips and carnations with traditional motifs. Others
have designs otherwise seen only on textiles, consisting of large
rumî scrolls highlighted by stylised flowers. Rüstem
Pasa Mosque’s tiles include the finest examples of naturalistic
floriate decoration, with tulips, carnations and roses arranged
in repeating patterns. Above all they are celebrated for the unprecedented
diversity of tulip motifs, with over forty different variations
occurring in the mosque.The most exquisite tile panels have designs
of trees in blossom or blossoming branches. Each surface of the
polygonal prayer niche is adorned with identical panels with a design
of blossoming stems in vases against a ground of traditional stylised
motifs. Despite the new trends in decoration of the time, tradition
has been maintained in the form of blossoming branches inside oval
medallions. The relatively simple blossom motif of the niche panels
is repeated in a far more ornate composition in the colonnaded portico.
This panel is a masterpiece of the art of tiling.
The fairly thick tree branches are realistic in both colour and
form. Even the knots on the branches can be seen, and the blossom
is drawn in detail, with shading that lends a sense of depth. In
the lower section of the panel are numerous spring flowers, principally
tulips and roses, which are set in the spaces between the tree branches.
Opium seed pods are another fascinating motif which is repeated
several times in this panel. This representation of spring is framed
at the top by an arched knotted band, so forming a small prayer
niche for those praying in the portico to turn towards. Again tradition
has not been neglected, and the area above the arch is filled with
rumî scrolls.
The beauties of Rüstem Pasa Mosque, which is one of the most
spectacular monuments of the period when Ottoman architecture and
tiling were at their zenith, must be seen for their full impact
to be appreciated.
* Prof Dr Yildiz Demiriz is an art historian
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