ŞEYH ŞABÂN-I VELÎ VAKIF MÜZESİ VAKIF ŞAMDANLARI FOUNDATION CANDLESTICKS IN ŞEYH ŞABAN-I VELI FOUNDATION MUSEUM

Abstract

The harem section of the Dervish lodge located in Kastamonu Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli Dervish Lodge (Dargah) today functions as the foundation museum. At the museum, the objects in the dargah are exhibited along with the items of the foundation. The subject of the study is the 12 candlesticks, which belong to the foundation. Candlesticks, having important meanings in terms of religion and mysticism, are one of the objects that are presented as gifts to such buildings as mosques and tombs. The candlesticks in the present study are among the foundation objects brought from the various mosques in Kastamonu. All inscriptions on the candlesticks have date information, 8 of them have the name of the mosques where they were donated, also, 9 of them include the name of the donors. The candlesticks made of copper; shaped by forging and casting techniques, consisting of a conical body, neck, shoulder and candleholders are classified as mihrab candlesticks having a qualification of the letters patent (berat-license) at that time. Kastamonu is one of the regions with rich copper deposits In the region, there were copper mining operations and copper processing workshops before and after the Ottoman period. According to the inscriptions on their bodies, the copper candlesticks dating to the 18th and 19th centuries are significant for indicating the local production of the late period of the Ottoman metalwork. In the 18th and 19th centuries Ottoman metalwork exhibited western influence in and around the capital, while traditional production far from these influences continues outside the capital. On the one hand, the candlesticks are examples of the gift/donation event in Turkish and Islamic tradition, and on the other hand, since they are made of copper and they emphasize the city of Kastamonu which produces and imports copper. In this study, the candlesticks, evaluated in terms of art history, were introduced to the world of science as examples of late Ottoman metalwork.