An Instigative Attitude: "Conspicuous Consumption" at the Ottoman Court by the Patrons during Suleyman I's Reign *

Abstract

Kiskirtici Bir Davranis: Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Doneminde Osmanli Sarayi’nda “Gosteris icin Tuketim” ve Patronlar Ozet Amerikali sosyolog Veblen’in “gosteris icin tuketim” diye adlandirdigi malin mulkun halka sergilenmesi durumu, 16. yuzyil Osmanli sarayinda statu ve gucu yansitmanin onemli yollarindan biri olmustur. Bu durum ayni zamanda Osmanli toplumunda yuksek bir pozisyona ulasmak icin de zorunlu bir hale gelmistir. Osmanli sarayinda, sultan gibi, sehzadeler, valide sultanlar, vezirler ve hazinedarbaslari da birer patron (sanat hamisi) olmuslardir. Kanuni Sultan Suleyman’in saltanati zamaninda (1520-1566) sanatla ilgili isler, basvezir veya sarayda zanaatci orgutunun (Ehl-i Hiref) basinda olan hazinedarbasi tarafindan yurutulmustur. Bundan dolayi, bu tur icice gecmis iliskiler, patronaj acisindan karmasik bir patron / musteri iliskisi yaratmistir; bu iliskiler icinde sultan her zaman uslup yaratici konumunda olmamistir. Egemenligin vazgecilmez ozelliklerin biri olan ihtisam fikrini one cikaran Basvezir Ibrahim Pasa (1523–1536), Venedikli tuccar ve sanatcilarla olan yakin iliskileri sayesinde Osmanli sarayindaki gosteris icin tuketimi harekete geciren en onemli ve guclu patronlardan biri olarak one cikmistir. Bu makalede, basvezirler gibi Osmanli sarayinda yuksek statuye sahip gorevlilerin sultan icin sanat uretimine nasil katildiklari aciklanmaya calisilacaktir. Ayrica, bu gorevlilerin, Osmanli Devleti ve “dunya hukumdari” olan sultanin evrensel egemenliklerini mesrulastirmada kullandiklari etkili unsurlardan biri olan siyasal statuyu guclendirmek amaciyla “gosteris icin tuketim”i nasil harekete gecirdikleri de tartisilacaktir. Abstract The public display of wealth in the form of material possessions, what the American sociologist Veblen called “conspicuous consumption” has always been an important way of projecting royal status and power at the Ottoman Court of 16th century. At the same time, consumption in order to create pomposity was an inevitable fact to acquire a high position in the Ottoman society. In the Ottoman Court, princes, valide sultans, vizierate and chief treasurers were the patrons of art as well as the sultan. In Suleyman I’s reign, artistic commissions of the sultan were usually conducted by the grand vizier or the chief treasurer who was at the head of the organization of royal artisans (Ehl-i Hiref). Hence, such interconnected relations created a complex network of patron/client relations for the patronage of art, in which the sultan was not always the chief tastemaker. Promoting the ideal of magnificence as an indispensable attribute of sovereignty, Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha (1523- 1536) was one of the most powerful and significant patron who instigated conspicuous consumption at the Ottoman Court in terms of his close relations with Venetian merchants and artisans. In this paper, it is intended to investigate the involvement of high rank officers, such as grand vizierate, with the art production for the sultan in and outside the Ottoman Court, and how they instigated the conspicuous consumption in order to reinforce their political status, as it was also a powerful fact for the legitimating of universal sovereignty of the Ottoman State and the sultan as the ruler of the world.