Geometric patterns and the art of kundekari in traditional turkish woodworking

Abstract

One of the most important areas contributing in the wealth of Turkish art is the woodworking that displays fine aesthetic spirit in the best way. Once the Turks arrived in the Anatolia, they sustained their traditions of art remained from the Central Asia in field of woodworking as the case of every field. It is possible to determine the most beautiful and richest examples of this in the art of Anatolian Seljuk state. Anatolian Seljukians has not only utilized wood as a construction material in architecture but also formed some other handcrafts made of wood such as mimbar, rostrum, lectern, the Koran case cover, drawers, symbolic coffin and other fine art works. It is seen that Anatolian Seljukians and Ottomants mostly use the techniques of carving (embossing), kundekari (build-up, interlock), latticed carving and dyeing. Being made by combining several components together by means of lathes without using nails and glue, kündekâri technique is an expensive and very demanding technique that prevents breakage, cracking and distortion of wood due to external effects such as moisture and heat. The contribution of kundekari techniques in traditional woodworking shall be investigated in the study. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.