The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

Seljuk Woodworking

The Mimbar of the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya, dated 1155,  is the oldest piece of dated Seljuk art known

Woodworking
The Seljuks were master woodcarvers. The designs carved in wood were similar to those used by stonemasons. Although there is an important series of wooden-pillared mosques in Central Anatolia, the use of wood was mainly reserved for interior decorative elements: doors, window shutters, mimbars (mosque pulpits), Koran stands, pillars and paneling. There are no remaining examples of such furniture for hans, and it is doubtful that there was much furnishing in their rough and spartan interiors.

The Seljuks developed the technique known as “kundekâri”, a complex technique which used pre-shaped, dried and seasoned pieces of cut and carved wood. These pieces were cut into shapes such as polygons, diamonds or stars, and afterwards, the surface area was carved as well. The pieces were interlocked by mortise, without glue or nails, and mounted on a frame and backing. The favored patterns were the star and polygon (usually filled with vinescrolls or flowers), kufic inscriptions and other complicated and intricate geometric shapes. The Seljuks also did low-relief carving (shutters, sarcophagi, and doors) or high-relief carving for calligraphic friezes and decorative borders. Other favored techniques of woodworking were open trelliswork and surface painting.

 

Notable examples of woodwork may be seen in Turkish museums and in situ at the Kebir Mosque in Aksaray and the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya, among others.

 

 

Painting on wood

As mentioned above, the decorative painting of the Seljuk period was applied to woodwork.  No examples remain, although the famous ceilings of the Capella Palatino in Palermo, Sicily, painted in the Fatimid style by the Normans in 1154, can provide some hint onto what the painted decoration of the Seljuk palaces may have looked like. Traces of painting have been found in the ruins of the Alara Saray built by Alaeddin Keykubad in 1224.


 

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