ceramics

The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

Seljuk ceramics

Malatya Ulu Cami, 1247

Karatay Medrese, Konya, 1251

Sıırt Ulu Camı Mınaret, 1129

Malatya Ulu Cami, 1247

Mihrab of the Sahip Ata Mosque, Konya, 1258

Mihrab of the Güllük Medrese, Kayseri

Sircali Medrese Konya; main iwan, 1243

Küçük Aya Sofia Mosque, Akşehir, dome detail; 1235

Tile from Kubadabad palace excavations; showing the "seated Turkish prince" pose

Figurative tile from Kubadabad showing mystical figures

Glazed ceramic bowl, 12-13th c.; Karatay Museum, Konya

Glazed tiles
The Seljuks excelled at the complex technique of firing glazed tiles and bricks, and used them with great skill and effect on their monuments, both internally and externally. The addition of the colorful glazed tiles as a decorative complement to the austere tan walls of Seljuk buildings is a successful aesthetic marriage, creating monuments of striking visual beauty.

The colors of the tiles followed a palette of turquoise, cobalt blue, deep purple, black and white, with brown and yellow more rarely employed. Tiles were used extensively to decorate doorway arches, mihrabs, and minarets.

The finest examples of tile work are to be found at Konya. Konya was the first center of tile and glazed brick production in Anatolia, and by the 13th century its production was exported throughout the Islamic world. The dazzling effect of the celestial dome of blue tile at the Karatay Medrese in Konya, a masterpiece of decorative art, is unforgettable.

There were two basic types of glazed tiles used by the Seljuks: monochrome glazed bricks and tiles and underglaze figurative painted tiles.

Monochrome glazed bricks became an important element for the decoration of the exterior of monuments, especially on minarets. Of sturdy and durable nature, these bricks were generally turquoise in color, although after the middle of the 13th century, cobalt blue and a darker eggplant color are also seen. The design patterns become more complex at this time as well, evolving from plain turquoise bands to geometrical patterns, zigzags and lozenges, with more and more area covered on the minaret. Minarets with glazed tile decoration include the Kayseri Ulu Cami (1205), the Taş Medrese of Akşehir (1250), and the Yivli Minare Mosque of Antalya (mid-13th). Other than for minaret decoration, there are very few Seljuk monuments that use glazed bricks for exterior decoration. However, the interiors of monuments are a different story.

Plain ceramic tiling was used to cover the interior walls of Seljuk works, creating a visual riot of colored glazed brick decoration on arches, vaults, iwans, domes and squinches (dome transitions). The glazed bricks were often used in conjunction with unglazed red bricks to form complex patterns, such as the dome decoration of the Ulu Cami in Malatya (1247).

Once again, turquoise was the preferred color, but violet and cobalt blue were often combined to form original geometric patterns by using square, rectangular, hexagonal or triangular tiles. In rare cases (such as in the Karatay Medrese in Konya), an overglaze gilding was applied.

Plain tiling was also seen on sarcophagi of the Seljuk period, such as on the sarcophagi in the Türbe of Sultan Kılıç Arslan II (1156-1192), located next to the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya.

Another important Seljuk decorative technique was the monochrome tile-mosaic technique. This labor-intensive but very flexible technique used cut pieces set like mosaic cubes to form intricate angular patterns of stars, geometric and key patterns, or kufic style script. These smaller mosaic cut tile arrangements could be adapted to cover curved surfaces such as arches, domes and squinches. Large-scale designs were used on doorways and the pendentives of domes (such as at the Karatay Medrese in Konya and the Taş Medrese in Çay). Together with carved stone, the tile-mosaic decoration formed the basis of Seljuk architectural decoration.

The tiles were first baked, and cut into the geometric shape desired. The mosaic bits were laid out to form the desired pattern, and then the reverse side was covered in plaster, which left the inlaid mosaic bits embedded in a panel which could then be attached to the wall or surface. The white of the plaster mortar showed through between the bits, creating a lively contrast with the blue tile pieces.

Using this technique, the Seljuks innovated the use of glazed tiles to adorn mihrabs, where they are set into a distinctive pattern of small honeycomb stalactite niches (Alaeddin Mosque, Sahip Ata Mosque and the Sircali Medrese in Konya). The clay was first shaped into a single honeycomb cell-shaped mold and then fired. The tile was then colored, glazed and then baked a second time before setting in place to create the niche.

Tile for fills and borders were created in large plaques and cut as needed. They were principally used to decorate mihrab niches, but is also seen on vaults, domes and squinches.

The second major type of tile decoration were the figurative underglaze painted tiles. These tiles were used in the Seljuk palaces, and are of high quality and beauty. They are different than the mosaic style panels in that the tiles are 1) of a different shape (in a distinctive star and cross combination), 2) they depict figural compositions and 3) are painted in the underglaze technique using a high silicate underpaste, over which a thick mixture of kaolin and feldspar was spread. The decoration was then applied, followed by the firing. These tiles were of octagonal or star shape, with the figural decoration in red, gold, black and white, usually on a blue ground.
These tiles show a design repertoire of lions, bulls, sphinxes, eagles, and women and robed princes in the traditional Central Asian cross-legged sitting pose, as in the tile which designates the "return to home" hyperlink above. These tiles are joyful, captivating, imaginative, and full of life and movement.
There were even tiles made in the minai luster technique, in which metallic oxides were applied after the first glazing and then refired at a lower temperature to bring out the sheen.

The excavations at the summer palace of Alaeddin Keykubad on Lake Beyşehir, the Kubadabad, have revealed an impressive cache of luxury polychrome and minai wall tiles, decorated with jumping and running animals (domestic and hunting species), lake birds, human figures (servants as well as elite courtiers, men and women), double-headed eagles, mythical creatures (harpies, gryphons, sphinxes) and scenes from everyday life, such as hunting and falconing parties. The series consists of a panel some 22 stars linked together by tile crosses. This magnificent panel has been reconstituted on the wall of the Konya Karatay Museum. The Kubadabad cache is extremely important, as the figurative element of the tiles provides a window onto the daily life of the period. Similar tiles have been found at other Seljuk palaces: Antalya, Alanya, Aspendos, Akşehir and Kayseri. Tiles with the Persian polychrome overglaze minai technique have also been found at the excavations of the royal pavilion at Konya.

As concerns hans, ceramic decoration was employed on a minor scale, which befits the utilitarian profile of these buildings. It was used essentially as decoration for the borders of mihrabs of the kiosk mosques of the Aksaray and Kayseri Sultan hans. It seems that the extensive use of ceramics was reserved for the portals of urban mosques or in medreses.

Ceramic Wares
Few pottery vessels or ceramic works from the Seljuk period are known, but excavations are currently revealing more insights. Excavations carried out in 1965-66 at Kalehisar near Alacahöyük have revealed important information about the ceramics industry of the 13th century. Two kilns were unearthed along with a substantial quantity of kiln material and shards of ceramics decorated with the sgraffito and slip techniques.

There appears to have been several types of ceramic wares:

●unglazed earthenware vessels, usually jars and jugs
●sgraffito (“scratched”) wares; with the decoration incised in the slip before the glazing and firing. Designs were simple geometric, floral and figural elements
●champlevé technique wares, where the design is incised in deep grooves which are then painted in black and covered with a transparent or green glaze, similar to Syrian Raqqa wares
●wares with a painted decor of designs in blue or black or under a transparent or monochrome glaze (usually green)

Seljuk ceramic vessels are somewhat crude and coarse, often unglazed or monochrome-glazed (usually turquoise), and exist in the many shapes for everyday tableware use: pitchers, dishes, goblets, flasks, lamps, jars and jugs. They are usually made of reddish or off-white clay with a coarse grain. The glaze is thick.

It is certain, however, that the Seljuks preferred to direct their ceramic attention to building decoration, and not to the development of a luxury ceramic ware production as was the case in Iran.