Forests of the Afterlife: Folk Art and Symbolism in Village Cemeteries of Turkey’s Bodrum-Milas Peninsula. C. M. Kösemen, İstanbul, Ege Yayınları, 2021, 143 p 21x30 cm. Color figures, illustrations. Limited (100 ea) edition.
Text in Turkish & English 550 gr.
The diversity of Turkish tombstones
Cemeteries surveyed for this book
Categories of symbols and artefacts
Sacred tree lore in Southwestern Turkey
ILLUSTRATED PAGES
Rough stones - irregular forms
Rough stones - triangular forms
Squat “anchor headed” tombstones
Miscellaneous “anchor headed” tombstones
Humanoid tombstone forms
Crescent-and-star symbols
Miscellaneous exotic tombstone shapes
Depictions of the human form
Occupational symbols
Tree figures - plain
Tree figures - “flame” abstraction “Blue flame” abstraction
Trees with accompanying branches or flowers
Tree figures with accompanying spots
Miscellaneous tree figures
Pine tree figures
Tree figures - triangular abstraction
Tree figures - clear outline
Tree figures - “skeletal” abstraction
Triple tree figures
Miscellaneous plant figures
Top section with floral designs
Single black branch
Miscellaneous symbols
Gifts and offerings
Miscellaneous structures
Addendum
Postscript
Sources and further reading