Karagoz and Hacivat in Bursa
Acrylic, watercolor & gold on passepartout cardboard, 50 x 35 cm, Turkish Ministry of Culture, National Library Collection
“The mysteries of eternity are known neither by you nor me, This enigma can be solved neither by you nor me, Behind the curtain they talk about you and me, But when the curtain is lifted there remains neither you nor me.”
–Omar Khayyam, an 11/12th-century Persian polymath who lived in Nishapur, the first capital of the Great Seljuk Empire
This work relates to the two main characters of Turkish shadow puppet theater— Karagoz and Hacivat—whose names appear at the top in Arabic calligraphy. According to legend, they were laborers on a 14th-century mosque in Bursa, Turkey. Popular with fellow workers, they were executed for fear they might incite rebellion. Their exploits became the stuff of oral tradition, and have been immortalized in Turkish shadow plays. In the quoted poem, Khayyam uses the shadow play as a metaphor for life.
Curator’s Note: While a form of popular entertainment, shadow plays also have a mystical dimension as explained by the famous Sufi Ibn Arabi: “Most people are like little children who think that the shadow on that curtain is real. In the shadow play, young children rejoice and cheer up. And the ignorant take it as a play and a pastime, and the pundits take lessons from it knowing that God puts forth that play as an example.”