Evaluation on A Group of Kirkit Dated in the Late Ottoman-Early Republic Period

Kirkit weavings, which constitute an important area of our cultural heritage, are rich in color and pattern. In addition, it was a common memory product that has survived to the present day by being transferred from generation to generation with the production methods and tools used in production. The Kirkit, what one of the basic tools used in this weaving group, is a weaving tool with trowel-like teeth made of wood, bone or metal in order to compress stitches, wefts and pattern yarns after knotting or winding pattern yarns. Kirties, which play an important role in determining the quality of traditional Kirkit weavings in Anatolia, attract attention not only with their functional properties, but also with their rich decoration compositions embroidered on their surfaces. When the decoration compositions used in the Kirkites are examined, it is seen that the theme or figure repertoire used in the traditional handicrafts of the region where they are produced is mostly utilized. As these rich ornamentations, which are applied with various techniques and methods, symbolizing the feelings, dreams, hopes and beliefs of the local people, show that the Anatolian people did not look at the materials used in weaving with a purely functional means, but also approached them with an aesthetic concern.It is seen that cultural assets in our country have been eroded due to various reasons in recent years and since the production of samples belonging to some areas are not made, they are in the process of extinction and they are being erased from the memory of our society. Weavings, which are an important branch of our cultural heritage, are no longer produced by traditional methods with the change of production methods and the tools and equipment used in these weavings are no longer made. In our publications and catalog researches, it is seen that there is no collective catalog or comprehensive publication about Kirkites, which are one of the most important tools of traditional weaving and which have scattered samples in various museums and collections in our country. Within the scope of this study, a small group of Kirkits, which we could identify, showed us that this area is in need of research and that the cultural heritage of this ancestor, which was a heritage of centuries, should be introduced to the scientific world.