Șoapte din trecut. Fragmente ceramice cu inscripții în limba osmană descoperite la Timișoara
Whispers from the past. Pottery sherds with Osmanic language inscriptions from Timișoara

Summary/Abstract: Two fragments of inscribed ceramic bowls executed in the sgraffito technique, using Arabic and Ottoman characters, were discovered near the former Sultan Süleyman and Ali Bey mosques during archaeological excavations in Timișoara. The study focuses on the archaeological, linguistic, and cultural context of these finds, highlighting the possible literary sources of the inscriptions. The inscription on one of the bowls appears to derive from a poem attributed to Sultan Murad II, with Sufi mystical influences, while the second seems to contain a blessing, interpreted as belonging to a vessel with a potential healing function. The fragments are compared with similar objects from other former Ottoman provinces, contributing to a better understanding of cultural circulation, calligraphic art, and Ottoman spirituality in the 16th–17th centuries. The study emphasizes the complexity of the Ottoman heritage of Timișoara, a topic still little explored in the field of ceramic epigraphy.

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