Stone Finials in Ottoman Period Religious Buildings in Bitola, Ohrid, and Skopje Cities of Macedonia

Abstract

Finials, observed in Anatolia since 7000 B.C., have been used in various religions and societies in different forms and symbolic meanings, and have been applied by Turks with great success above the tents and building tops and on spearheads. In Ottoman period, they were also used above the dome, vault, minaret and minber tops of many architectural building types such as mosque, madrasa, tomb and fountain. Either in historic buildings, the finials have never been studied or the existing researches concentrated on the metal finials. Research on stone finials is rather limited. This study aims at defining general characteristics, typological documentation, and inventory of stone finials in religious architectural buildings located in city centers of Macedonia, as an architectural element rather than focusing on their symbolic meanings. Hence, it is intended that the data obtained from the research on existing stone finials of case study nine mosques and two tombs built in 15th-18th century in Macedonia, have been a comparative study for the similar building types in similar regions during their restorations. First, definition of finial, its historiography, and functions have been explained in detail, and material, technique, and formal features, size, dimension, and ratios of finials have been studied. Stone finials in case study mosques and tombs of Macedonia have been assessed according to their forms, type of building they have been located, according to their location inside the building and their material by means of historic photos, engravings and in-situ observations.

Keywords

• macedonia
• stone finials
• religious architecture
• typology