Tombstones and Dessert Program at Mehmet Emin Ağa Sebil-Fountain Cemetery in Istanbul

Death is one of the realities through which living beings lose their earthly life. In many cultures, tombstones, erected in memory ofthe deceased, are powerful symbols of religious, cultural, artistic, and social support. Transforming the bond between life and death into a narrative language through various inscriptions and ornaments, tombstones also serve as documents providing information about the deceased's gender, occupation, and family. The tombstones decaying in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, are both concrete evidence that history is supported by writing and works of art that, through their form and features, convey the artistic understanding of the era in which they were built. In Ottoman society, high-income individuals may have built structures of a social character in various parts of the city, but they also stand out as examples of both charitable donations and the prestige structures of their benefactors. Hac & imath; H & uuml;seyin Agha, who served as the Shipyard Superintendent during the reign of Sultan Ahmet III, and his son, Sipahi Agha Mehmet Emin Agha, were among the families whose construction activities continued for generations. The graveyard, which was placed as a part of the fountain built by Mehmet Emin A & gbreve;a on her own land in the Dolmabahge district in 1741, is the subject of this article. The studyfirst identified the graves by reading the inscriptions on the gravestones. Itwas determined that Mehmet Emin Agha, his family, and individuals connected to this familywere buried in the 26 graves in the cemetery. The types of graves, the forms of their head and foot panels, and the styles of their capitals, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, were then typologically classified. The ornamental program of the gravestones was examined and detailed under three main headings: geometric, floral, and object-based. This study focused on the motif repertoire shaped by Western-influenced Rococo and Baroque styles from the Tulip Period and beyond. Furthermore, the Mehmet Emin Agha Cemetery gravestones were compared with examples from Istanbul and Anatolia in terms of both typology and decorative features, and their place and significance within the period were investigated.

Journal

ART AND INTERPRETATION

Year

2026

Volume

47

Pages

169-186

eISSN

2822-2865

DOI

10.47571/sanatyorum.1776353

WoS UID

WOS:001721405000016