Some Interpretations Concerning the Relief Decoration of the Column-Capitals of the Kursi in the Mosque of Bozüyük

Abstract

The mosque of Kasım Pasha in Bozüyük has been mentioned in m.any travel books, and is famous because of its coloured - glaze fayance decorations. It has been constructed in 1528 as a part of a large building complex consisting of quest houses, kitchens and a kervansaray. A tile of the minber bearing an inscription that the bath was built in 1525 by Kasım Paşa indicates that there have been many changes in the mosque after a fire and it was re - built in the eighteenth - century, probably using the tiles of a bath, location of which is unknown. The most important part of the mosque is a kürsi on the left - hand corner of the mosque resting on four columns brought by Kasım Pasha from Hama, who was the governer (mutasarrıf) of that city during 1516 - 20. The most remarkable part of the columns is the carved decoration of the capitals containing vegetal, animal and human motifs. Its inscriptions bear the name and the titles of the Ayyubid ruler Sultan al - Malik al - Muzaffer Taqi al - Din Mahmûd, which indicates a date in the thirteenth century.