Testi: Anadolu Selçuklu ve Beylikler Dönemi Örneklerine Kavramsal ve Tipolojik Bir Yaklaşım
Anadolu’da Neolitik Dönem’den günümüze kadar üretilen sırlı ve sırsız seramiklerin kendinden önce veya sonra gelen dönemlerle sıkı bir ilişkisi vardır. Anadolu Selçuklu Dönemi seramikleri, bağlı bulunduğu kültür ve sanat ortamında gelişen, Anadolu’nun Orta Çağ Dönemi’nin şekillenmesine yön veren ve izlerini Beylikler Dönemi’nde devam ettiren oldukça önemli eserlerdir. Bu çalışmada seramik sanatında terminolojiye yönelik yaşanan problemler sebebiyle formlar üzerinde bir değerlendirme gerçekleştirilmiştir. Anadolu Selçuklu ve Beylikler Dönemi ile sınırlandırılan araştırmada, sayısız formda üretilen seramikler arasında yer alan ancak genellikle çalışılmayan ve yalnızca bir grubu oluşturan testilerin form olarak açılımını doğru yapmak ve bir tipoloji oluşturmak amaçlanmıştır. Testi tipolojisini oluşturabilmek için öncelikle testi kavramı üzerinde durulmuş, tespit edilen kavramsal karmaşa hakkında detaylı açıklamalar yapılmıştır. Testi, ibrik ve sürahi ile ilgili yayınlardaki tutarsızlıklara dikkat çekilmiş, ardından tipoloji oluşturularak Selçuklu ve Beylikler Dönemi testi formları hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Bunun için testiler ve özellikle testi olduğu düşünülen eserlerin çizimlerinin yer aldığı çalışmalar referans alınmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında ortaya çıkan altı farklı testi grubu, form özellikleri ve bezemeleri açısından irdelenmiştir.
Jug: A Conceptual and Typological Approach to Examples of the Anatolian Seljuk and Principalities Period
The glazed and unglazed ceramics produced in Anatolia from the Neolithic period to the present day have a close relationship with the periods that preceded or followed them. The ceramics of the Anatolian Seljuk period are significant works that developed in the cultural and artistic environment to which they are connected, shaped the shaping of the Middle Ages of Anatolia and continued their traces in the Principalities period. In this study, an evaluation was made on the forms due to the problems in terminology in ceramic art. In our research, which is limited to the Anatolian Seljuk and Principalities Periods, it is aimed to make a correct explanation of the jugs, which are among the ceramics produced in countless forms, but are generally not studied and constitute only one group, and to create a typology. In order to create a typology of jugs, firstly the concept of jug was emphasized and detailed information about the conceptual confusion was given. The inconsistencies in the publications on jugs, ewers and carafes were pointed out, and then the typology was created and information was given about the Seljuk and Principalities Period jug forms. For this purpose, the jugs and especially the drawings of the artifacts that we think are jugs are taken as reference. The seven different groups of jugs that emerged within the scope of the study are analyzed in terms of their form characteristics and ornamentation.
In this study, an evaluation was made on the forms due to the problems in terminology in ceramic art. This research, which is limited to the Anatolian Seljuk and Principalities Periods, aims to make a correct explanation of the jugs, which are among the ceramics produced in countless forms, but are generally not studied and constitute only one group, and to create a typology. In order to create a typology of jugs, firstly the concept of jug was emphasized and detailed information about the conceptual confusion was given. The inconsistencies in the publications on jugs, ewers and carafes were pointed out, and then the typology was created and information was given about the Seljuk and Principalities Period jug forms. Various sources were scanned to determine and find the form types used in the works in which we investigated the test forms of the Anatolian Seljuk and Principalities periods. During the research, it was understood that the carafe and ewer forms found in some sources, which were not defined as jugs but were jugs, were considered as jugs. Therefore, first of all, a detailed form evaluation was carried out to clarify the names of these parts.
At the beginning of the study, it was understood that there were problems in the naming and form details of the jugs, which have always had an important place in ceramic art and history, like other ceramic vessels. Elements of the human body are used in the naming of vessel parts (mouth, lips, neck, shoulders, abdomen/body, feet, etc.). However, it is noteworthy that local and foreign researchers generally do not use a common language regarding ceramic forms. When discussing ceramic vessels in terms of form, different names are used for all the details starting from the mouth to the foot, i.e. the base. For this reason, many terms and concepts have emerged in ceramic art. In addition, the common use of some concepts in contemporary ceramic art and handicrafts in the field of ceramics has increased the confusion in naming and form descriptions in these fields. However, in some publications, examples that we know as jugs or mugs are referred to as jugs, while those we know as jugs are referred to as pitchers/ewers or carafes.
When we examine the examples of closed-form vessels and jugs illustrated in books, articles, papers and theses written in the field of Islamic and especially Seljuk period ceramics, one of the problems we encounter is that there are different names for the same type of vessels. The main problem arises when these vessels with various functions are used interchangeably. For example, a similarly shaped jug may be called a jug, ewer or jug in different publications. This leads to serious confusion in form and function. However, due to the differences in the ceramic jargon of archaeology and art history, art historians mostly prioritize function. For this purpose, a study has been prepared to draw attention to the functional confusion as well as to the form types of the jugs, which are the main subject of this study.
When typologizing vessels, many common characteristics must be brought together and arranged in order of priority. The most important criteria for differentiating the main forms are size and proportion, followed by body and rim form, and attachments (handles, lugs, spouts, feet, bases, etc.). Once the vessel repertoire has been divided into main groups, attachments should play a role in the subgroups. Although the main vessel forms can be classified under different names according to their various attachments, the skeleton of the typology should be formed without going beyond this grouping. Accordingly, a jug should be classified according to the characteristics of the main vessel type, even if it is called beak-mouthed or double-handled under the narrow-mouthed pottery group. Vessel forms arranged according to a certain principle are the most important factor in establishing a correct typology.
Although at first glance one might think that there is a great variety in the forms of jugs, ewers and carafes, it can be accepted that they are period-appropriate variations of certain forms whose origins go back to very ancient times. Considering their relationship with water as well as their construction techniques and form details, it is understood that these designations were made according to certain characteristics of the vessels. The main similarity between the jug and the pitcher in terms of function is that water and similar liquids are poured through a protruding spout. The main difference between them is that the liquid is poured from the spout on the jug and from the spout on the ewer.
The most important feature of the jugs is that they are cooked at a low temperature, so they remain porous and sweat by slightly leaking water, thus keeping the water cool. Since the jugs are directly related to water, there is no need to call them water jugs. However, they are sometimes named after honey, molasses, oil and various other liquids. In some publications, jugs are included in closed-form ceramics, as mentioned above, and sometimes they are analyzed under the name of beverage serving vessels. For example, beverage serving vessels consist of large jugs, ewers, bottles and flasks used for transferring liquids. The smaller ones are glasses and mugs. The fact that jugs are not generally included among beverage serving vessels, or that these vessels are called jugs or mashrapa instead of jugs, may be due to their different intended use. The jug has a wider mouth and a beak, making it suitable for use at the table. The jug, on the other hand, is convenient to carry and has a large volume to increase the liquid capacity. In general use, the jug serves to serve individual vessels (cups and mugs). The jug is both hand-carried and can be passed from hand to hand to drink from. The pitcher serves to slow down and control the flow of liquid, whether for cleaning hands and bodies or for serving drinks. In bottles, this controlled flow is realized thanks to the thin long necks. The bottles also have neck collars that prevent slipping from the hand.
The jugs may be of different heights, but when they are typified according to their body forms, their rim diameters and heights are consistent based on certain measurements. Thus, clearer conclusions can be drawn based on their heights and rim diameters under different groups. According to the dimensions given in various publications, the average height of the jugs ranges between 15 cm and 40 cm and the average rim diameter between 4 cm and 10 cm regardless of their base, body, neck and rim forms. These vessels do not have spouts, have variable body and neck forms, and have as many handles as desired. The form details of the jugs found in our study and grouped according to their body forms are given under subheadings. Glazed or unglazed jugs were produced in different forms for various purposes during the Seljuk Period. These are products with various forms, usually with bulging bodies, with or without necks, with narrow or wide rims, of medium height and in sizes that can be carried by hand, with one or two handles, sometimes without handles and spouts. In some regions that have reached the mass production stage, it is possible to further diversify the forms of jugs beyond the detailed characteristics described above.
In order to create a form typology of the Seljuk and Principalities Period jugs, this study is based on the jug drawings in various publications of the period. Forms of the same type, which are defined differently from each other, have been grouped under suggested headings and generalizations have been attempted. The publications reviewed and the drawings and decorative features of the examples in many studies were carefully analyzed and grouped under specific form headings. The jugs, analyzed only according to their body forms, vary according to their rim and base forms. Since creating a typology of the jugs in such a way that the rim and base parts of the jugs are also integrated with the body parts would further complicate the already existing form typology, only the bodies were taken as the basis for the typology. Accordingly, two types of jugs with mold-made and wheel-made bodies were produced. Molded jugs with two-piece bodies have three different body forms. They are grouped as two-piece spherical body jugs, two-piece conical-spherical body jugs and two-piece conical body jugs. Wheel-made jugs have spherical, flattened conical, ovoid and oval bodies.
Most of the two-part globular jugs found in Anatolia were recovered from sites dating to the Seljuk, Principalities and Early Ottoman periods. During the research, it was possible to compare the jugs dated to the Seljuk period of the 12th and 13th centuries with those dated to the 14th-15th centuries of the Principalities period. Thus, it was found that the Seljuk period jugs with the same technique were found frequently, and that the bodies were produced in various forms such as two-part spherical or flattened spherical form, conical at the bottom and spherical at the top, or vice versa. In addition, it was found that the bases were generally in the form of low ring bases and high bases in the form of goblet feet, and the necks were in the form of conical or cylindrical shapes opening from the body to the mouth.
It is understood that the Anatolian Principalities and the Ottomans, the successors of the Seljuks, were the successors of each other in ceramic works as in many other artifacts, but they continuously improved their production within their periods by making innovations. Therefore, considering these changes over time, we can say that the jugs were stable in their main form, i.e. the body form, but managed to create diversity in the form of add-ons, i.e. the base, handle and neck forms.
