Pottery In Australia Vol 35 No 1 Autumn 1996

Turkey
Ken Osetroff uncovers some Turkish delights in Avanos
I I
Deep in the central Turkish
plateau of Anatolia lies
Cappadocia, an area noted for
its natural beauty, intriguing ruins and
a long history of pottery production.
If you're planning on a quick trip
here when your international airlines
gives you a stopover in Istanbul, you
should think again .. .it's a very long
drive from Istanbul to Avanos.
What will make you take even
longer is that you can't just pass by
such places as the town of Iznik,
founded about 1000 BC and centre of
the Ottoman Empire's tile production;
the Anatolian Civilisations Museum
with its outstanding collection of
Hittite (1900 - 1600 BC) figurines and
pottery vessels; or Kutahaya whose ceramic artisans,
commencing in 1514, were also renowned for making
decorative tiles.
A vanos town would probably not exist if it wasn't for its
potters.
The pottery industry has brought much wealth and
prosperity to this town along with a steady stream of
tourists. As one potter aptly explained 'Most Turkish
potters are not rich enough to produce work that might not
sell, so we make what the market demands.'
In fact much of the work produced here is very
functional and for domestic use including roof tiles, pipes,
building bricks and what seems to be an oversupply of
unimaginatively decorated vessels.
However, amongst what I call survival pottery produced
for the passing tourist trade, you can find artisans with some
personal flair that makes them stand out from the crowd.
When you walk in to the studio of 'Chez Galip' you
know instantly that you've discovered a real Turkish
delight. Galip himself demonstrates the use of his kick
wheel with all the showmanship of a born actor. The
spindle of this kick wheel is built up of a series of
interlocking hollow wooden forms, the top segment being
determined by the form of the piece to be made. For a large
vessel it would be a hollow bowl into which the base of the
piece would fit, but for a plate, the top
form would be similar to our bats.
This whole column fits onto a
cement wheel which, when the
Assyrians first introduced the kick
wheel to A vanos, was probably made
of stone.
Firing of his smaller pieces is done
in a small kiln on the roof of his
house but larger pieces are taken to a
huge community kiln just out of
town. This is a wood fired, updraught
kiln built of stone with a brick lattice
floor between the fire box and the
firing chamber. No shelves are used
and the pots are stacked to fill the
space, which is almost the same size
as a local farmer's house.
Amongst his various decorative styles Galip is
experimenting with traditional watercolour marbling in an
attempt to create a unique finish. As you walk through the
network of underground passageways that make up
Galip's gallery, what at first looks like spider web is
actually 10,000 locks of women's hair, hanging from the
ceiling. These have been donated willingly by women who
have visited the gallery and each year five names of the
donors are chosen, just like a lottery, and invitations are
sent to the fortunate five to attend his studio for pottery
tuition by Galip himself.
I'm not sure what Galip's Dutch wife thinks of this, but
in fact, a few years ago she had been one of those chosen
five. Women in Turkey have never been overlooked,
particularly in the line-up of goddesses worshipped
through the ages. The earliest pottery statuettes of such a
goddess, of which a replica can be seen in 'Chez Galip',
was unearthed in excavations of Cata! Hoyuk, the world's
oldest 'city' (6500 BC). She is described in one guide
book as being 'a big busted woman with large hips and
symbolises the power and crowdedness of a tribe'.
As you can well imagine, a variety of opinions were
forthcoming from the ladies with whom I was travelling. oo
"Goddess", replica.
Ken Osetroff, Destination Management.
AL
74 POTTERY IN AUSTRALIA+ ISSUE 35/1 AUTUMN 1996