@article{2013,title={The Ottoman Art Of Seals And Seals In The Classical Turkish Poetry},abstractNode={Seals are inscriptions, coats of arms or stamps and their typography engraved on hard substances in place of signatures. Having been used in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran and Anatolia throughout history, seals have been engraved on minerals such as silver, brass, iron, bronze and notably gold, or gems such as emerald, amethyst, onyx, turquoise, pebble, garnet, cornelian, and pearl. The inscriptions on seals were engraved in reverse order so that they could be correctly read when they were put on paper and they were used after they were dipped in soot or ink. Names, titles, verses from the Quran, couplets as well as flowers and ivy figures were engraved on seals as decoration. There are seals on which 8 to 10 words were inscribed in an area of 1 centimeter. Seal making was recognized as an art in its own right in the Ottoman Empire. Seal masters had to excel in one or more of the calligraphic styles like sulus, ta’lîk, nesih, rik’a and reyhanî. Moreover, engraving of inscriptions on a hard object in aesthetic manner in reverse order and so big as to be read was a job that required great skill, patience and attention. Therefore, seal masters would engrave their names in one corner of the seal in fine inscription. The job of engraving seals was called engraving and those who engaged in this job were called engravers or seal makers. Engraving was considered a prestigious profession in the Ottoman society because those who engaged in this profession were qualified people with artistic skills and they were reliable people never involved in fraudulent deeds. Moreover, the fact that seals were used in all official and private businesses, that they were important in social life and that sultans favored this art so much so that some sultans like Mahmoud 2nd engraved seals themselves raised the prestige of the profession. Seals are classified as imperial seal, personal seals, foundation seals and official seals on the basis of their purpose of use and the persons who will use them. Seals also exhibit variations depending on the material they are made of and their artistic value. For example, sultans had four seals, one emerald and the others gold. Seals generally resemble one another in form. However, imperial seals are small and oval, round, square or octagonal whereas seals of senior officials such as viziers are oval or round. Seals also became a subject of interest in the classical Turkish poetry where Ottoman social life was reflected in all of its aspects. Therefore, the seal and the art of seal making is a topic that must not be ignored in poetry, which is a reliable source in studies on the Ottoman Empire. In classical Turkish poetry, issues such as types of seals, their forms, the styles of inscriptions, materials from which seals are made, their areas of use, the manner of their printing, engraver’s engraving his name on the seal or withholding his name, determining the propitious moment for preparation of the seal and starting the job at this propitious moment, forged seals, carrying seals as rings on fingers or on the chest in a purse, which finger to wear the seal on, keeping poison in seals have been dealt with by poets. These topics have been covered in our paper with examples from the classical Turkish poetry.},author={Semra TUNÇ-- Emine YENİTERZİ},year={2013},journal={Journal of Turkish Studies}}