Composition Analysis of Cypriot Cylinder Seal Printmaking Visuals

Abstract

Since ancient times, people have used special signs and symbols to determine their identity, property, belief, authority, and similar rights. The understandability of these symbols is because they are signs of people who form a community with common values and agree on their meanings under the conditions of that day. One of the most important factors that make these special signs meaningful is the compositions they are used in. In this research, the cylinder seals found in Cyprus and those that are archaeological works and exhibited in museums were examined. The sample's seals consist of cylinder seals exhibited in the Cypriot archaeological museums, the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, and the John Hopkins Museum. Cylinder seals used by the communities and governments that have dominated Cyprus in the historical process were examined as visual elements. For this purpose, the compositions of cylinder seals used in Cyprus between 2000 BC and 600 BC were examined. The study also included compositions on seals produced in neighboring cultures, brought to Cyprus as gifts or imported, and the seals with additional figures engraved after they were brought to the island. In this context, the pattern, figure, writing, decoration, and arrangement of the patterns used on 191 sample cylinder seals were investigated. As a result of the examination, the compositions of the figures engraved on the seals were coded and divided into categories. Twenty main categories were identified as a result of categorical separation. Fifty-nine subcategories were identified in nine of the main categories identified. No subcategories were found in the remaining 11 categories. In this context, the compositions of the cylinder seals included in the sample, the episode called the main scene, and the side scenes supporting the expression were determined and examined.

Keywords: art composition, Cypriot culture, Ancient Cyprus, cylinder seals, seal compositions.