Research Information System
Ankara Universitesi Ilahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, vol.63, no.2, pp.1135-1160, 2022 (Scopus, TRDizin)
The oil lamp motif, which is not known exactly when it started to be used in Turkish and Islamic art, basically means light/light. This motif, whose meaning changes according to the structure or surface on which it is embroidered, has a wide range of meanings such as a divine symbol, birth-death, the light of God, prophets, heaven, the universe and worship. The motif, which is mostly respected in folk culture, is in religious buildings such as mosques, tombs and lodges; it has been applied in civil structures such as mansions and residences and also in tombstones. The motif, which is usually made as a pencil work on plaster, on the walls of religious and civil architectural structures; it has also been applied on different surfaces such as wood, tile, ceramic, marble, stone, metal, glass and woven. One of the places where the oil lamp motif is used is the Uşak Boduroğlu Mosque. The oil lamp motif on the dome appears as the only example used in mosques in Uşak. In this study, the oil lamp motif on the dome of the Uşak Boduroğlu Mosque is compared with similar examples in Anatolia and discussed in terms of the reasons for using the oil lamp motif in Turkish art and its iconographic relationship with the surface it is on.