Researcher and writer (b. 6 December 1945,
Gelibolu / Çanakkale - d. 9 May 2003, İstanbul). Because of his father’s job as
an army officer, he completed his primary and secondary education in different
parts of the country. He graduated from Haydarpaşa High School (1963) and
Galatasaray High School of Economics and Commerce (1969). In 1964-1969, he was
involved in theatre as an amateur and as a professional. From 1962 in İstanbul,
he was a shareholder and manager of a copper company that his grandfather was
involved in. In addition to this, he was the general publishing manager of
Anatolian Art Publications until he died. He was a member of many social
services associations, the Writers Syndicate of Turkey, the History Foundation,
the PEN Association of Writers, he was a founder member of the Trabzon Research
Centre Foundation, an honorary member of the Foundation for the Preservation of
Turkish Monuments and Environment and a High Consultative Committee member of
the Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of Environmental and Cultural
Heritage. He is buried in Karacaahmet Graveyard.
His first article connected to copper work, “Copper Ewers” was published
in Turing magazine in English in
1979. His articles were published in magazines and journals such as Sanat Tarihi Yıllığı, Türk Folklor
Araştırmaları, Türk Folkloru, Arkeoloji ve Sanat, Folklor ve Etnoğrafya
Araştırmaları (1984), Halk Kültürü, Journal of Turkish Studies, Antika, Türk
Folklorcu Belleten, İmage, Kıyı, Antik Dekor, İş Bankası Kültür Sanat Dergisi,
Tarih ve Toplum and İstanbul.
He
carried out regular research on the art of Anatolian handmade copper for thirty
years. He collected examples and determined the characteristics of the forms of
copper-made pots and kettles that changed according to different geographical
regions. He assembled a rich collection of hand tools used in copper work art.
He did research in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina
in order to determine the extent of Turkish copper-work art in Central Europe
and the Balkans. He did comparative research and classification in these
countries by visiting the important copper centers that had strong traces of
the art of Turkish copper work.
He wrote material related to copper work for Encyclopedia Britannica. He wrote articles connected to copper work and related terms in Grand Larousse to which he also supplied visual material. He wrote on the same subject for İstanbul Encyclopedia. The İhsan Hınçer Award for Contribution to Turkish Folklore, which has been given since 1982, was given to him in 1984.
WORKS:
Folklor
ve Etnoğrafya Araştırmaları 1984
(Research on Folklore and Ethnography, with İ. Aslanoğlu, A. Oy and S. Koz, 1984),
Folklor ve Etnoğrafya Araştırmaları 1985
(Research on Folklore and Ethnography 1985, with İ. Aslanoğlu, A. Oy and S.
Koz), Türk Folkloru Belleten 1986/1
(Turkish Folklore Bulletin, with E. Aslanoğlu, 1986), Türk Folklorü Belleten 1986/2 (Turkish Folklore Bulletin, with E.
Aslanoğlu, 1986), Türk Folklorü Belleten
1987 1/2 (Turkish Folklore Bulletin 1987 1/2, with E. Aslanoğlu, 1987), Trabzon Kültür Yıllığı 1987 (Trabzon
Culture Almanac 1987, with M. Duman, Ş. Şatıroğlu 1987), Trabzon Kültür Yıllığı 1988-89 (Trabzon Culture Almanac 1988-89,
with M. Duman, Ş. Şatıroğlu, 1989), Türk
Halk Bilimi ile İlgili Kitaplar İçin Bir Bibliyografya Denemesi / 1985-1990
(An Essay on the Bibliography of Books Related to Turkish Folklore /
1985-1990,1991), Eski İstanbul’da
Gündalik Hayat (Daily Life in Old İstanbul, with Ersu Pekin, 1992), Tombak (Gold Plated Copper, 1992), Anadolu’da Türk Bakırcılık Sanatının
Gelişimi – Bakır Yatakları Üretimi ve Atölyeleri (The Development of the
Art of Turkish Copper Work in Anatolia – The Production and Workshops of
Copper Products, with Associate Prof.
Oktay Belli, 1993), Atatürk ve Kurtuluş
Şiirleri Antolojisi (Anthology of Atatürk and Independence Poems, (with Ö.
Ciraoğlu, 1986), Bir Tutkudur Trabzon
(Trabzon is a Passion, with Öner Ciravoğlu, Cüneyt Akalın, 1987).