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76a |
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75b |
The parade of the guildsmen: Farmers, millers, and bread-makers
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76a |
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75b |
On the sixth day of the festival the parades of the guildsmen began. In this scene we see the beginning of the parade, led off by the guilds of farmers, millers, and bread-makers. (In his text, Vehbi describes in lengthy detail the route followed by each guild, the.gifts that each presented, the displays of their individual professions, and the performances they put on. Presenting such a wealth of information visually was of course impossible given the space available to Levni. Nevertheless the guild parades make up what is probably the most interesting part of Surname for us and our discussion of these images from time to time will draw attention to the discrepancies between what Vehbi tells us and what Levni shows us.)
In (75b) the sultan is sitting in the observation tower with one of his sons and two pages. The grand vizier is down below in his tent with the master of the Sergeants, the steward of the Doormen, and others in attendance and Steward Mehmed Agha peeking from behind the tent. In (76a) the artist depicts the Farmers, Millers, and Bread-makers guilds, which were called upon to march first. (What looks like a disorderly crowd at first sight is really an orderly procession. Levni solved the problem of fitting a long line into a small page by arranging the figures in a sinuous curve extending from the upper left corner to the lower right. The bends in the line are indicated by changes in the direction in which the figures appear to be looking.) At the head of the parade are the farmers proceeded by two yoked oxen whose horns have been gilded and which are pulling a plow. The figure behind them with a sack at his waist is sowing seed. Behind him comes a camel on which is mounted a youth reading a book. According to Vehbi, the boy is reading the "Cattle" sura of the Quran but the author has him not on a camel but rather in a domed cart set on the backs of the oxen. Near the upper right corner is an oddly-attired figure mounted on a donkey. According to Vehbi, he is a muhtesip–a police superintendent whose duty it was to check the weights, measures, and materials employed by tradesmen, artisans, and merchants–and this is his disguise. In the guildsmen’s performance, the figure carrying a rectangular tray of
sesame-rings is caught selling short-weighted goods by the policemen. His tray and goods are confiscated and he is forced to wear a wooden cap, a punishment meted out to dishonest tradesmen. (This must be the same bread-seller who is "punished" in (73a).) Bringing up the rear of the procession is a youth baking flat bread in a working oven set on the backs of two donkeys. He tosses the freshly-baked bread to the crow as he goes along. Scattered among the marchers are three figures carrying circular trays with what look like gold vessels on them. Such figures, as well as other carrying ornate chests etc, reappear in all the guildsmen’s parade scenes. They represent the.gifts that the individual guild will be presenting to the sultan when the time comes.Notes
1. Sesame-rings:
Simit. A crisp, ring-shaped savory roll covered with sesame seeds. Itinerant peddlers of them with trays exactly like this can still be seen in Turkey.Return to
Surname-i Vehbi indexReturn to
Kanyak's Doghouse
