Lotus (nilüfer)
The flower that rises from mud and opens in the sun: morning in Egypt, enlightenment in Buddhism, beside the dragon on Anatolian prayer rugs.
What does it mean?
In ancient Egypt the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) opens at first light and closes at evening; it was used in funerary garlands and became the symbol of Upper Egypt. The pink Nelumbo nucifera, called “lotus” today, reached Egypt from India only in the Persian period and cannot appear in Pharaonic art [1]. In Buddhist art the lotus is the symbol of the Buddha, who always sits on one. According to Karamağaralı, the lotus rises from dark mud and opens in the sun; its root stands for immortality and its stem for life. A prayer rug from the Sırçalı Mescid in Konya shows a symmetrical lotus, as if reflected in water, surrounded by dragon heads; the researcher argues that this pairing expressed divine power from the Seljuks to the Ottomans [2].
Same theme
Sources
Drawing: Bitki Tabanı, interpreted from the traditional motif.