THE APRIL CUP

Among the masterpieces in the Mevlana Museum is a footed bow! 65 cm. high and 95 cm. wide made of bronze and decorated with inlaid patterns of gold and silver, called the April Cup. On the cover is a figurine of a large cock. It is so large and heavy that one person can only carry in with difficulty, and it is made of four parts, arid decorated over its entire surface with miniature writing and motifs.

At first glance it resembles a large soup bowl. To answer the questions of when and for whom it was made one has to look at rumors and documents.

April rain has traditionally been considered lucky and holy. The custom of collecting the rain which falls in April in basins and bowls and then scattering it on the crops to bring about a good harvest still lives in Anatolia. It is said that the April cup, which has been in Mevlana's tomb for 650 years, was used -to collect the April rains. Then after being left in Mevlana's Tomb for a few days it would be distributed to visitors and sick persons as the water of abundance and health. For this reason it was named the April Cup.

Under the feet of the figure of the cock are several birds and on the lid are plant and geometric motifs among which are figures of birds and animals, all damascened in gold and silver. The ltd is also decorated with a row of medallions and a line of writing. On the medallions are the figures of people sitting cross legged.

The body of the cup is similarly decorated, except for the designs on the medallions, which include horsemen holding a falcon, rulers seated on their thrones, and sakis holding drinking cups and serving the sultan. The writing includes a poem, the rest being praise of the sultan. One of these is a follows; "Exalted Padishah high ruler, leader of nations, the just and wise sultan of sultans Ebu Said Bahadir Han. May this cup bring him happiness and good fortune." According to these inscriptions the April Cup was made for the last Hhan sultan Ebu Said Bahadir Han who ruled in Baghdad from 1317 to 1335.

Ebu Said Bahadir Han was the son of the llhan sultan Olcaytu Mehmed, who died in 1317. Ebu Said Bahadir Han came to the throne in Tabriz at the age of 12 years old, and while he was still young the affairs of state were managed by the vizier Emir Coban. After managing the state successfully for ten years he was killed on the orders of Ebu Said Bahadir Haiv who then married the vizier's daughter Baghdad Hatun. Her heart burning with revenge Baghdad Hatun managed to get the affairs of state entirely into her own hands. When Ebu Said Bahadir Han married her niece Dilsat Hatun her veins swelled with jealousy and in the month of November 1335 she killed the sultan by poisoning him. Left without a leader the army commanders killed Baghdad Hatun.

So the April Cup is not only a magnificent work of art but also a souvenir from a period full of palace feuds. It is the palm-staking work of years of a Turkish craftsman, who made it for the sultan.

Historians have investigated how the cup happened to find its way to Konya, and found the answer. In the library of Mevlana Museum is a single leatherbound edition of a manuscript book of poetry. On the 486th page of this book is written the following:

"It is a gift to the Great Sultan Ebu Said Bahadir Han who brought happiness to his people, justice to his lands, was ruler of nations. This cup was made in 728 Hicri [the year 1327) in Musul. In 734 (the year 1333) the cup was put in the hands of the Emir Sungur Aga with a plea for intercession, and sent to the holy and innocent Tomb of Mevlana".

According to this important document our masterpiece, the April Cup, was made in 1327 and sent to the Tomb of Mevlana by Ebu Said Bahadir Han in the charge of Ernir Sungur Aga.

Emir Sungur Aga who brought the Apri! Cup to Konya and presented it to the Tomb of Mevlana was one of the seven emirs which were sent to Anatolia by the Mogol-llhan sultan Abaka Han. Emir Sungur governed Nigde and the surrounding region for many years, and had a mosque built there in his name. When Emir Sungur died he was buried in the Tomb adjoining the mosque which he had built in Nigde.

I have tried to briefly describe the history of this unique work of art, the April Cup.

In 1936 the April Cup was sent to America for exhibit in the Exhibition of -Masterpieces of Turkish Art. It took pride of place and attracted' great interest.

Today the April Cup is exhibited in the most prominent position in Konya Mevlana Museum. It is situated at the head of the sarcophagi of the Khorasan Soldiers, the place where it was originally placed 644 years ago. The museum authorities make sure that it is never moved anywhere else.

Konya Museums are justified in feeling pride in this masterpiece, the April Cup, executed with such craftsmanship with gold and silver damascene that it has dazzled the eye for centuries.