Seljuk period metal works in the collection of Çorum Museum directorate

The political, religious, administrative structures and some cultural elements of the Seljuk civilization are known both nationally and internationally within the scientific community. However, data related to daily life, which is a part of social life, is rarely encountered. When we look at the scientific literature on the Seljuk civilization and especially the art of the Anatolian Seljuk State, we see that the architectural structures, the architectural plastic decorating these structures, especially the tile used as an ornamental element in architecture have been studied more scientifically. Studies related to metal art mainly consist of collections from a few well-known museums, primarily the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. Since the metal artifacts in over five hundred museums in our country are not known, periods, civilizations, and intercultural interactions have not been fully analyzed. While conducting the study on the Seljuk Period metal artifacts in the collection of the Çorum Museum Directorate, first, the number of artifacts registered in the Çorum Museum Directorate and its affiliated units was determined. During the museum studies, visits were made to the collections of Çorum Center, Alacahöyük, and Boğazkale Museums to examine the reported artifacts on-site and evaluate whether they were correctly classified and indeed from this period. If there were artifacts registered to another period but relevant to the study, they were added to the study list. The twenty artifacts were evaluated in terms of group, technique, style and iconography. During the literature review, similar examples were examined in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Sadberk Hanım Museum, Afyon Museum, Ankara Ethnography Museum, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Amasya Museum, and Konya Ethnography Museum. In the light of all the data, 20 metals artifacts were classified and cataloged, taking into account the technique with which they were produced, how they were brought to the museum, their decoration, the method of making this decoration and its form. While determining which century the artifacts belong to, a comparison was made in line with the information and examples in the literature, and the general characteristics of Seljuk and Anatolian Seljuk metal art and how similar examples in the museums visited were classified were taken into consideration. This study will contribute new data to the archaeology of the Çorum region and aid in the reinterpretation of Seljuk metal art.