Menu
Anatolia (Ottoman) · Plant motifs

Goncagül (rosebud)

A flower bud not yet fully open; in oya, the sign of a pregnant bride.

What does it mean?

Goncagül is the motif depicting a flower that has not fully opened, still in bud. Like hatayi, it is stylised by taking a vertical section of the flower; even in the plainest goncagül the sepals and petals are shown [1]. It appears often alongside hatayi and penç in 16th-century İznik tiles [1]. In folk art the bud also carries meaning: in Kastamonu, the “gül oya” (rose oya), made of one flower and one bud, is worn by pregnant new brides; those who see the oya understand that the wearer is expecting a baby [2].

Same theme

Lale (tulip)Karanfil (carnation)Servi (cypress)Hatayi (stylised flower)Penç (rosette)Çift dalagan (double nettle)Salkım söğüt (weeping willow)Sümbül (hyacinth)Haşhaş tepelik (poppy finial)Laurel wreath and olive branchBoteh (paisley)Mistletoe and the druids

Sources

  1. Nursel Karaca, “Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Türbesi Çinilerinde Yer Alan Tam Üsluplaştırılmış Çiçekler: Hatayi, Penç ve Goncagül”, Korkut Ata Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2024
  2. Songül Erdoğan, “Motiflerin Diliyle Aile ve Evlenme Kavramı”, Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 2026

Drawing: Bitki Tabanı, interpreted from the traditional motif.