Use of ceramic bowls in Anatolian mihrabs

The number of structures in Anatolian architecture where ceramic bowls are used is eighty-nine. While five of these structures date back to the Byzantine and neighbouring cultures, eighteen structures date back to the Seljuk period, eleven to the Principalities-Early Ottoman period and fifty-five to the period from the Ottoman period to the present-day. Seventy-two of the identified structures are mosques and masjids, nine are tombs, four are castles, and one each is a madrasa, church, palace and chapel. Although the building type and place of use varied in the 12th and 13th centuries, the use of certain building elements and sections increased from time to time. As eight of the eleven structures from Principalities-Early Ottoman period were decorated within mihrabs, and fifty-one structures from the Ottoman period were decorated in minarets. Seven of the buildings with ceramic bowls in their mihrabs are located in Ankara while two are in Karaman. The mihrabs of these structures made of plaster are decorated with single-color glazed and (or) are underglazed ceramics from the corner and (or) border parts. In addition to their basic functions, the transformation of ceramic bowls into architectural ornaments is not limited to Anatolia locally and mosque mihrabs in terms of building type and place of practice. It is seen that ceramic bowls are used in the interior and exterior decoration of the buildings in the architecture of different cultures outside of Anatolia. Ceramics used in architecture are defined with the Italian word "bacini". It is a significant fnding in terms of the main subject of this study that the mihrabs in the mosque and masjids of countries such as Oman, Kenya and Tanzania, which are quite far from Anatolia, are also decorated with ceramics similar to the structures in Ankara and Karaman. The decoration of plaster mihrabs with ceramic bowls produced for daily use is a new ornamentation practice that emerged in Anatolia during Principalities-Early Ottoman Period. However, it has been demonstrated by the prensence of examples that this practice was not limited to the mentioned period or Anatolian architecture.