Contemporary adaptations from fantastic animal figures in Seljuk tiles and ceramics

Fantastic figures are supernatural talismanic creatures that people create with the effects of their imaginations to protect themselves from their struggles against nature, from enemies or from disasters. These figures not only carry the effects of people's imaginations, but also contain the powerful features of wild animals that exist in nature. When the physical features of the fantastic figures are examined, there are human heads and animal bodies or hybrid bodies that come together from the limbs of different wild animals. Fantastic figures with hybrid or composite characters, consisting of a combination of different genres, appear in works of art and iconographic scenes of many cultures from the past to the present. The development process of fantastic figures is also frequently seen in the works of art in the Seljuk geography. It is known that sphinx, griffin, siren (harpy) and dragon figures are depicted especially on tiles and ceramics of the Great Seljuk and Anatolian Seljuk Periods between the 11th to 13th centuries, fantastic figures reflected the auspicious meanings they carry into their compositions. Fantastic figures in the compositions contributed to the formation of different scenes by taking place in various iconographies as well as being depicted alone in the works or as three-dimensional figurines. These talismanic figures are mostly depicted in the centre of the forms in the compositions in which only fantastic creatures are depicted In addition, fantastic figures are included in different compositions in iconographic scenes and reflect their talismanic features in the artwork. Among the iconic scenes, fantastic figures appeared in compositions depicting the monarch and the throne, the hunter and the cavalry, forest-themed hunting, musicians and entertainment. In addition, fantastic figures made references to many themes such as astrology and the zodiac in some compositions and provided the formation of various symbolic expressions. Today, examples of fantastic figures can be found in the works of important museums and private collections around the world. In the catalogue study created in the light of the tile and ceramic works examined, it is seen that there are many different techniques and forms of production in the examples in which fantastic figures are depicted. Stylization, theme, composition and staging studies of fantastic figures observed on various tile and ceramic works were examined and evaluated. As a result of the examinations, fantastic figures were included in an original pattern design and the work was carried out. The fantastic figured patterns, prepared in accordance with the tile panel and ceramic form, were applied in the underglaze technique and fired in the kiln. Thus, the text of the artwork focusing on fantastic figures was completed with a catalogue study and an original artwork design process.