Karatay Medresesi Çini Eserler Müzesinden Ünik Özellikte İki Siren/Harpi Figürlü Seramik / Two Unique Siren/Harpy Figured Ceramics in the Karatay Madrasah Tile Works Museum

Making two broken ceramic works with siren/harpy depictions in Konya Karatay Madrasah Tile Works Museum known and determining the special status of these artworks among the medieval Anatolian fantastic figures are the subjects of this study. The political, military, social-economic relations that developed between the Byzantine and Anatolian Seljuk States in the period after the Battle of Malazgirt in Anatolia created an environment of cultural and artistic interaction. This situation, with the development of culture of living together has given chance to produce artworks that appeal to common taste, despite the differences in style, in the geography that is dominated by two cultures. A common visual repertoire formed in this way in the course of time has spread the use of similar motifs in the artworks of both cultures. Fantastic creatures such as siren/harpy, sphinx and angels believed to have protective and magical powers are regarded as examples that reflect the elements of artistic interaction. The siren/harpy depictions, which have examples in different types of artwork such as architectural decoration, ceramics and tiles in Byzantine and Anatolian Seljuk art in Anatolia, have been portrayed as fantastic creatures that protect against strong evil in both cultures. Some siren/harpy figures depicted in Byzantine art are evaluated under the influence of Anatolian Seljuk art. This is mostly due to the fact that Greek or Turkish masters working on the production of the works know well the depiction traditions of both cultures. The works with siren/harpy figures, which we have examined in our study, are important as material evidences that carry the Byzantine-Seljuk artistic interaction to the present day, produced by using a common visual repertoire formed in a multicultural geography in Anatolia.