Aqueducts

Aqueducts

Untitled view of Constantinople, graphite on paper, by Charles Robert Cockerell, 1810. British Museum, London, UK.

This light-handed, notational panoramic sketch in graphite by British architect, Charles Robert Cockerell, documents an early 19th century view of the third and fourth hills of Constantinople from the Golden Horn. The third hill, on the left, features Süleymaniye mosque, and the fourth, Fatih Mosque; crossing the valley between them, we see a long, clearly defined aqueduct bridge rising above and along the lower cityscape, connecting the hills. This bridge, a significant monument of Istanbul and called Bozdoğan Kemeri by the Ottomans, is the most prominently visible remaining section of the extensive aqueduct system originally built by the Romans, known as the Aqueduct of Valens. Built in the 4th century under Constantius II and completed by Valens, the aqueducts were continuously maintained, restored, and extended throughout both Byzantine and Ottoman eras, as the water supply was deeply essential to life and civilization in the city. Cockerell’s topographic drawing is a descriptive observation of the important spatial relationships between Ottoman and ancient monuments in Constantinople at a time when European artists were flocking to the Ottoman capital to record the city for interested viewers back home in the West.

Charles Robert Cockerell

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_2012-5001-317

The British Museum