MODERNI PRISTUP KONZERVACIJI I RESTAURACIJI SLIKANIH SLOJEVA ISLAMSKOG SAKRALNOG PROSTORA I NJEGOVE KONSEKVENCE NA PRIMJERU CAREVE DŽAMIJE U SARAJEVU

Abstract

The dome mosques, adorning most major settlements, represent   the most significant monuments of Islamic sacred architecture in Bosnia and   Herzegovina. These exceptionally important cultural monuments from the   Ottoman period have, for the most part, preserved their original architectural   form despite the fact that the buildings are several centuries old. However, the   interior decor, that originally adorned walls of the mosques at the time these   were built, has not been preserved. Some of the causes that led to the current   state of our cultural heritage are rooted in the conservation-restoration approach   to the protection of the painted layers deposited on the walls of these buildings.   Namely, the approach mentioned completely disannuls fact that the interior of   a traditional mosque, in terms of decoration and other surfaces as well, should   be reflecting the stylistic characteristics of these buildings’ architecture. In our   opinion, the modern approach to the protection of painted layers in the interior of   a traditional mosque is not an adequate one given that it fundamentally changes   the character of the interior space. It becomes particularly problematic if one   bears in mind that it is a prayer area and therefore a sacred space which, through   legal systems of protection, is being not only culturally devastated, but also   deprived of its sacral spirit. Careva džamija (The Emperor’s Mosque) in Sarajevo   is one of the most obvious demonstrations of the above said approach to the   protection of painted layers in the interior of Islamic sacred architecture in our   country, and the one which clearly exposes the consequences of this approach.