Aesthetic Analysis as a Methodology for Interpreting Islamic Art and Architecture: An Ottoman Case Study from Topkapı Palace

This article advances aesthetic analysis as a methodological framework for interpreting Islamic architecture and demonstrates its analytical potential through an Ottoman case study from Topkapı Palace. While Islamic architecture has often been examined through stylistic, historical, symbolic, or typological approaches, the methodological relationship between formal description, aesthetic experience, and conceptual interpretation remains insufficiently articulated. Drawing on aesthetic philosophy and artwork-centered approaches to interpretation, the study proposes a three-stage analytical framework consisting of the description of formal features, the identification of aesthetic predicates, and conceptual interpretation. Rather than treating these dimensions as separate domains of inquiry, the framework relates them through a structured analytical process that moves from perceptible form toward conceptual understanding. The framework is applied to the Privy Room of Murad III in Topkapı Palace, one of the
most prominent interiors of the Ottoman imperial residence. Through a close examination of the room’s spatial organization, ornamental surfaces, and calligraphic program, the study identifies aesthetic qualities such as unity, stylization, and repetition. Interpreted within the conceptual horizon of Islamic aesthetics, these qualities illuminate how architectural form organizes perception, aesthetic experience, and symbolic and spiritual interpretation within the Ottoman palace environment. By combining methodological reflection with the aesthetic analysis of an Ottoman architectural interior, the article proposes an integrative and systematic framework for interpreting Islamic architecture while offering a new perspective on the aesthetic structure of one of the most sophisticated interiors of the Ottoman court.