A CRYSTAL GLASS PLATE FROM THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

The crystal glass plate that is the subject of the study was obtained from the minaret of Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque, which collapsed in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023. On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes occurred in a wide area in the Southeastern Anatolia region (Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Adana, Osmaniye, Kilis, Diyarbakır, Malatya), which occurred one after the other and caused great destruction. In these earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, Kahramanmaraş Ulu Mosque was severely damaged and its minaret was destroyed. A crystal glass plate and accompanying “Willow Patterned” ceramic plates, used as decorations in the bacini techniques on the minaret of the mosque, were detected among the collapsed rubble along with the bound cut stones during the “Earthquake Debris Excavation Works”, which were stopped by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism after the earthquake. These plates are not generally studied by researchers, but they are very important artifacts. The work in question, in which we see the use of glass plates for the first time among the products with bacini distribution in Anatolia, has not been taken into consideration and researched at all. The aim of the study is to record, document, date and summarize in detail this plate, which fell off the minaret that collapsed during the earthquakes in the center of Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 and became available for examination. Revealing the developments in which glass has become widespread through crystal glass plates and providing ideas in various fields by examining social tastes. In addition, it aims to elucidate the origin of this plate, its place of production and application techniques, as well as commercial activities in the Ottoman Empire and throughout Europe.