A Group Of Turntable Seal Samples From The Ottoman Perıod In Mardın Museum

In fact, another factor that is as important as writing in transferring the traces of the societies that lived in the past to future generations is handicraft products, which are a good means of communication. Examples of metal art, which is a branch of handicrafts, have survived to the present day in greater numbers because they are more robust than wood, ceramics, leather and weavings. These examples are documents in terms of reflecting the period in which they were made and their cultural values.

Seals, which constitute a branch of the important documents of history; It means the writing, crest or stamps that replace the signature engraved on hard materials and their printing. Seals used by many civilizations throughout history were engraved on metals such as gold, silver, brass, iron, bronze or precious stones such as emerald, amethyst, agate, turquoise, turquoise, najaf, Yemen stone, kantaşı, pearl. The inscriptions on the seals were engraved upside down so that they would come out smoothly when pressed; they were used by pressing them with soot or ink. Many different motifs were engraved on the seals, such as the name or the office to which the person was affiliated, the institution, the enterprise, verses or couplets from the Holy Qur'an, as well as floral motifs for decoration. In the Ottoman Empire, seals were classified according to the purpose of use and the person who used them, such as seals of the seal-i hümâyûn, personal seals, foundation seals, official seals and talisman seals.

The seals in the Mardin Museum are not known where they were made, and all of them were brought to the museum by non-excavation methods, which prevents a precise interpretation of these artifacts. For this reason, the information about the location of the artifacts is based on the information provided by the people who brought the seals to the museum.

Thus, within the scope of the study, seven examples of turntable seals of historical importance in Ottoman Art and Mardin Museum will be identified and determinations will be made about the ornamentation and construction technique, the period to which they belong, the type of metal used in the works and their dimensions. In addition, the form, material, construction technique and ornaments used in the works within the scope of our subject will be discussed by comparing them with different examples.

Keywords

Seal, Mine, Ottoman Period, Mardin Museum, Ownership