Until the late 19th and early 20th century, public fountains (in Turkish, ‘çeşme’) in Anatolia and Ottoman lands had an important place in everyday life. The water that was collected from various water sources and brought to the city centres through waterlines was supplied to people from the architectural stone structures which we call ‘fountains’. These fountains were constructed in squares and streets as needed; to supply water to an area or to pay for the building of a fountain was considered the greatest deed. An inseparable part of the public fountains, many of which are architectural monuments, is the faucets which are generally made of metal and through which the water would run. The faucets were also named as ‘lüles’ (meaning ‘pipes’) which indicated the flow rate of water. Faucets were paid great attention in the construction of public fountains. This work examines the Seljuq and Ottoman era faucets registered in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum as historic artefacts and are a part of the Adell Armature Collection. Within this scope, the alloys and metals of which faucets are made; their size and measurements, their design features, on and off mechanisms, wall-mount features, the patterns and decorations on the faucets were also compared. While Seljuq era faucets have stylised dragon heads and other powerful animals depicted in their metal work, Ottoman era faucets usually have floral patterns and not animal figures. This subject draws much attention.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
May 01 2013
The properties of Seljuq and Ottoman era public fountain faucets and some rare faucet samples Available to Purchase
E. Topçu;
1Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum Registered Collector of Anatolian Water Culture, Adell Armature Water Culture Collections Co-ordinator, Istanbul, Turkey
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
G. Liman;
G. Liman
2Expert in Metal and Bronze Artifacts, Adell Armature Water Culture Collections Consultant, Istanbul, Turkey
Search for other works by this author on:
A. H. Topçu;
A. H. Topçu
3Industrial Engineer, Adell Armature Water Culture Collections Assistant, Istanbul, Turkey
Search for other works by this author on:
Y. A. Baykal
Y. A. Baykal
4Grand Bazaar Jeweller, Istanbul, Turkey
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Supply (2013) 13 (3): 656–665.
Article history
Received:
June 15 2012
Accepted:
August 02 2012
Citation
E. Topçu, G. Liman, A. H. Topçu, Y. A. Baykal; The properties of Seljuq and Ottoman era public fountain faucets and some rare faucet samples. Water Supply 1 May 2013; 13 (3): 656–665. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2013.012
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00