Plaster of Paris/Chalkware Figurines: Period Showcase Objects in Turkish Houses

Abstract

Until the establishment of the Republic, the upper layers of Turkish society were closely interested in European culture, life, art and literature, especially French. With the disappearance of many traditions such as eating on the floor or the change in social communication patterns, dining tables and chairs, display cases and sideboards, bedside tables for dining rooms, bedrooms and wardrobes began to settle in residences. Between the 1970s and 1990s, plaster figurines with human and animal figures, i.e. figurines, mostly bearing traces of pastoral, religious or simple life, were exhibited in the windows of many houses in Turkey, and were a symbol dominating domestic decoration for a period with their vibrant colors. The places where immigrants, who produce and sell trinkets, are in majority, are the USA, Germany, and England, and around Europe. These trinkets, which are known to come especially from Italy, England, USA and Germany, have become indispensable and encountered objects in decoration. The study, as a first in terms of previous researches, deals with the production stages of these works, their relevant history in terms of intercultural and social factors is included, and original information about their physical structures and prominent artists is inspected. Also in the study, the place and importance of these objects in Turkish houses, their artistic qualities, origins and some features related to Turkey were discussed, and it was a priority to give information to the literature about the figurines that gained antique value because they were no longer produced.

Keywords: Plaste figurines, Chalkware figurines, German figurines, Italian figurines,
showcases in Turkish houses.