The 1720 Imperial Circumcision Celebrations in Istanbul

Festivity and Representation in the Early Eighteenth Century
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-90-04-43755-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 71, 294 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 559 g

Reihe: The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage

The 1720 Imperial Circumcision Celebrations in Istanbul offers the first holistic examination of an Ottoman public festival through an in-depth inquiry into different components of the 1720 event. Through a critical and combined analysis of the hitherto unknown archival sources along with the textual and pictorial narratives on the topic, the book vividly illustrates the festival’s organizational details and preparations, its complex rites (related to consumption, exchange, competition), and its representation in court-commissioned illustrated festival books (surnames).

To analyze all these phases in a holistic manner, the book employs an interdisciplinary approach by using the methodological tools of history, art history, and performance studies and thus, provides a new methodological and conceptual framework for the study of Ottoman celebrations.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Erdo&

Erdogan Iskorkutan, Sinem

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Volkskunde: Sitten, Traditionen, Mythen, Legenden
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Tanz Andere Darstellende Künste

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Note on Transliteration and Translation

Acknowledgments

List of Figures and Tables

Introduction

1The Reign of Ahmed III and the 1720 Festival

2Historiographical Framework

3Previous Research on Ottoman Festivals

4This Book

1Preparing the Festival

1In Search of Utensils

1.1Borrowing From Court Institutions and Purchasing From the Market

1.2Borrowing Utensils From Officials and City Dwellers

2Food Provisioning

3Making Nahils and Candy Gardens

3.1Officials, Merchants, and Craftsmen Working Together

4Registering the Names of Uncircumcised Boys and Performers

4.1Boys Registered for the Circumcision

4.2Performers Registered for the Festival

2Staging the Festival

1Food-Related Events

1.1Distribution of Food Allowances

1.2Donations Through Food

1.3“They Ate His Food, Drank His Sherbet”: Imperial Banquets

2Spectacles on Land and Sea

2.1Marvelous Shows Enacted

2.2Some Events as Performances

2.3Guild Parades

3Gifting

3.1Monetary Gifts to Attendants and Performers

3.2Robes of Honor to Dignitaries and Officials

3.3Providing Circumcision and Clothing for Boys

3.4A Piece of Jewelry or a Simple Candlestick: Obligatory Gifts Presented to the Sultan

3Representing the Festival

1Commissioning Process of the Illustrated Surnames

1.1Supervision of the Project

1.2Painters Working for the Illustrated Surnames

1.3The 1720 Festival Paintings in the Ottoman Book Painting Tradition

2Iconography and Image-Making

3Narrating the 1720 Festival in Imagery

3.1Serial Images of Processions and Guild Parades

3.2Narrating the Public Celebrations of the 1720 Festival in Imagery

Conclusions

Selected Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Sinem Erdogan Iskorkutan, Ph.D. (2017), Bogaziçi University, Department of History, published articles on early modern Ottoman history and art history, and recently co-edited a special journal volume on Ottoman celebrations and festivals.