AN EVALUATION ON THE MYTHOLOHGICAL DESIGNS SEEN ON THE SHAMSE SHAPED TILE PANELS OF HATİCE TURHAN VALİDE SULTAN TOMB

Abstract

The shamsa forms, which are derived from the rich motif repertoire of Turkish tile art, provide a unique example of shamsa design featuring mythological animal figures on the tile panels of the Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Tomb. It is established thad a variety of animal symbolism was employed in the corpus of early Turkish art and on medieval tombstones. The dragon, a mythical creature with naturalistic elements, is a prominent figure in the Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Tomb’s double-headed eagle shamsa compositions. The dragon desing was a prevalent element in Turkish art, particularly in sixteenth-century tile work, often associated vith the cloud motif. Nevertheless, these myths from the seventeenth century, which feature the double-headed eagle and the suggestion of a multi-headed dragon through the structure of a dynasty tomb, continue to serve as a significant example of stylisation in Ottoman tile designs to the present day. This study will examine the iconography of the double-headed eagle and dragon figures observed in the shamsa tile compositions of the Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Tomb. The eagle and dragon figures seen in the shamsa from, which represents a distinct design field within Ottoman tile art, will be evaluated a comparative method with references drawn from Turkish art examples.