Traditional pottery practices in Iranian and Anatolian ceramic art and comparative evaluation of examples

Although the beginning of the utilization of the world's clay resources is not known with certainty, archaeological finds show that the oldest ceramics date back tens of thousands of years. Anatolia and Iran, as the geography where the oldest civilizations were born, are important centers that have carried pottery to the present day in a process of thousands of years. In this study, traditional pottery practices in Iran and Anatolia are examined in detail and the similarities and differences in the ceramic art of these two regions are evaluated in a comparative perspective. There are many cities in Anatolia and Iran that continue to produce with traditional methods. However, due to time and budget limitations, the most important cities were selected. Pottery production processes, forms, decoration features and firing techniques in five important pottery centers of Anatolia, Sorkun, Gökeyüp, Karacasu, Avanos, and Kınık, are detailed. Pottery practices in Lalecin, Kelpurgan, Meybod, Mend, and Hekemi, the leading pottery centers of Iran, are examined with a similar approach. The research conducted in the Iranian and Anatolian regions revealed that a shared cultural structure in these geographies has influenced similarities in the forms and shaping methods of the produced ceramics. However, due to differences in regional resources, significant distinctions were observed in the decoration and firing methods of the pottery. As a result of the economic problems in both regions, pottery has faced serious difficulties and there has been a marked stagnation in this field. This thesis examines these problems and proposes some solutions. Keywords: Anatolia – Iran – Pottery – Traditional Pottery – Potter's Wheel