95
T
his article reconsiders two joined and previously
published bowl fragments from Boğazköy. They are
decorated with a secondarily incised armed warrior in a
victorious pose, probably standing on or near a person
(dead?) lying down (figs 1–3). The bowl has so far received
attention mainly for its incised decoration. It was first
published by Kurt Bittel (1976) as a single find, separate
from its context (Haus 19) and associated materials. Its
context and associated finds were published in dispersed
studies, in most cases without reference to the bowl. Rainer
Michael Boehmer, who published the small finds from the
bowl’s context, namely the Lower City residential area,
does not mention it (1979). He has also published the relief
pottery from Boğazköy, which includes some associated
materials (1983). Boehmer’s publication with Hans Gustav
Güterbock (1987) on the seals and sealings from the Lower
City also includes finds from this context. The other pottery
from this area has not yet been published; this is clearly a
handicap for the current analysis. Subsequently, the context
of the bowl has been examined by Andreas Müller-Karpe
as part of his study of metal workshops (Müller-Karpe
1994b). He identifies Haus 19 as the workshop of a
craftsperson working on small objects of various materials,
and his study is adopted here as the main reference for
contextual information. More recently, the figure on the
incised bowl has been identified as a Mycenaean warrior
by Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier and regarded as indicating
Mycenaean and Hittite connections, but without essential
in-depth analysis (Niemeier 2002). The figure has continued
to be cited as such (for example Genz 2017).
This artefact and its secondarily produced image
embrace fundamental oppositions in terms of production
and image, which could have been produced with the
intention of dualistic expression. Dualism refers literally
doi:10.1017/S0066154619000061
The dualistic nature of a Red Lustrous
Wheelmade bowl from Boğazköy
with a depiction of a victorious armed warrior
Ekin Kozal
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey
ekozal@comu.edu.tr
Abstract
A bowl with an incised heroic combat scene was found at the Hittite capital of Boğazköy and dates to the end of the
15th/beginning of the 14th century BC. This article reconsiders this previously published bowl, its production history
and the message it conveys. The warrior is usually identified as Mycenaean, and in previous studies the bowl has been
considered only for its incised decoration without evaluation of the bowl itself, its context and associated finds. This
article argues that the bowl had a physical journey from Rough Cilicia to Hattusa and a non-physical journey from being
a simple everyday object to a unique artwork through the secondary carving of an image, which reflects dualistic aspects.
Özet
Hitit başkenti Boğazköy’de, üzerine kazıma tekniğiyle kahraman mücadele sahnesi işlenmiş bir kase bulunmuş ve M.Ö.
15. yüzyılın sonu-14. yüzyılın başına tarihlendirilmiştir. Daha önce yayınlanmış olan bu kase, üretim aşamaları ve
içerdiği anlam bakımından bu makalede yeniden ele alınmaktadır. Önceki çalışmalarda, kasenin buluntu yeri (konteksi)
ile birlikte bulunduğu buluntular dikkate alınmamış, yalnızca üzerindeki mücadele sahnesi ile değerlendirilmiş ve
bezemedeki savaşçı genellikle Miken kültürüne özgü olarak tanımlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada ise, kasenin bir taraftan Dağlık
Kilikya’dan Hattuşa’ya gönderilerek maddi bir yolculuk yapmış olduğu, diğer taraftan ise ikincil tasviri ile günlük bir
nesne olmaktan çıkıp eşsiz bir sanat eserine dönüşerek manevi bir yolculuk daha yaptığı ve bu kapsamda dualistik özel-
likler yansıttığı savunulmaktadır.
Anatolian Studies 69 (2019): 95–108
© British Institute at Ankara 2019
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0066154619000061
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