A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum

Decorated tombstones from the Middle Ages seen in Central Anatolia and its surroundings are generally in the form of sarcophagi, rams, sheep and horses. These tombstones have been produced since the 12th century. On their surfaces, mostly feature depictions of humans, horses, lions, deer, birds, mou...

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Main Authors: Mürüvet Harman, Mehmet Anıl Kızılaslan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2024-08-01
Series:Art-Sanat
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Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/C79D101963904BB2AAE14E2C23BF69CA
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author Mürüvet Harman
Mehmet Anıl Kızılaslan
author_facet Mürüvet Harman
Mehmet Anıl Kızılaslan
author_sort Mürüvet Harman
collection DOAJ
description Decorated tombstones from the Middle Ages seen in Central Anatolia and its surroundings are generally in the form of sarcophagi, rams, sheep and horses. These tombstones have been produced since the 12th century. On their surfaces, mostly feature depictions of humans, horses, lions, deer, birds, mountain goats, rabbits and snakes/dragons. It is seen that the figures in question are brought together with different and crowded compositional setups. One of the tombstones with this feature is currently exhibited in the stone artifacts section of Eskişehir Eti Archeology Museum. In the work with inventory number A.449-08 (A-161-68), a deer and a rabbit between two lions are placed on one of the side surfaces. This scene, in which the animals in question are shown in motion, gives the impression of a prey/ animal struggle at first glance. However, given the context of the scene and the symbolism of the lion, deer, and rabbit in the Middle Ages and earlier periods, an alternative interpretation appears plausible. In this study, an attempt was made to analyze the iconography of the scene on the sarcophagus. For this purpose, the symbolism of each motif and especially its connection with death were examined, taking into account their use on tombstones of the same period.
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spelling doaj-art-55fc9828a1fb4608bc458c203df5568f2025-08-20T03:52:52ZengIstanbul University PressArt-Sanat2148-35822024-08-012233536010.26650/artsanat.2024.22.1443728123456A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological MuseumMürüvet Harman0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6651-263XMehmet Anıl Kızılaslan1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0621-4646Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Canakkale, TurkiyeÇanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi, Canakkale, TurkiyeDecorated tombstones from the Middle Ages seen in Central Anatolia and its surroundings are generally in the form of sarcophagi, rams, sheep and horses. These tombstones have been produced since the 12th century. On their surfaces, mostly feature depictions of humans, horses, lions, deer, birds, mountain goats, rabbits and snakes/dragons. It is seen that the figures in question are brought together with different and crowded compositional setups. One of the tombstones with this feature is currently exhibited in the stone artifacts section of Eskişehir Eti Archeology Museum. In the work with inventory number A.449-08 (A-161-68), a deer and a rabbit between two lions are placed on one of the side surfaces. This scene, in which the animals in question are shown in motion, gives the impression of a prey/ animal struggle at first glance. However, given the context of the scene and the symbolism of the lion, deer, and rabbit in the Middle Ages and earlier periods, an alternative interpretation appears plausible. In this study, an attempt was made to analyze the iconography of the scene on the sarcophagus. For this purpose, the symbolism of each motif and especially its connection with death were examined, taking into account their use on tombstones of the same period.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/C79D101963904BB2AAE14E2C23BF69CAmiddle ageseljuk periodsarcophagusfigureiconography
spellingShingle Mürüvet Harman
Mehmet Anıl Kızılaslan
A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
Art-Sanat
middle age
seljuk period
sarcophagus
figure
iconography
title A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
title_full A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
title_fullStr A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
title_full_unstemmed A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
title_short A Sarcophagus and its Iconography from the Seljuk Period in Eskişehir Eti Archaeological Museum
title_sort sarcophagus and its iconography from the seljuk period in eskisehir eti archaeological museum
topic middle age
seljuk period
sarcophagus
figure
iconography
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/C79D101963904BB2AAE14E2C23BF69CA
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AT muruvetharman sarcophagusanditsiconographyfromtheseljukperiodineskisehiretiarchaeologicalmuseum
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