Turcology is the scientific discipline that comprehensively examines and studies everything related to the Turks, including their history, language, literature, culture, art, archaeology, epigraphy, ethnology, anthropology, and much more. Epigraphy (the study of inscriptions) is the branch of science that researches and studies all kinds of graphic language elements (descriptions, pictures, drawings, stamps, symbols, writings, and inscriptions) outside of phonetic (spoken) language. The arts of tilemaking, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature painting, and engraving are also arts that are very closely related to both Turcology and epigraphy. The number of qualified representatives/masters of these arts is decreasing day by day, and very important values belonging to these arts are being lost due to technological developments. One of the masters who has made great efforts to keep the arts of tilemaking, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature painting, and engraving alive, and who has made significant contributions to the preservation and development of these arts with his works and the students he has trained, is Şemseddin Delen. Şemseddin Delen was born on July 1, 1954, in Tetova/Kalkandelen, Macedonia (Republic of North Macedonia). When he was just one year old, his family left Kalkandelen and settled in Kütahya, Turkey. Delen completed his primary and secondary education in Kütahya and his high school education in Bursa. In 1988, he graduated from the Electrical Engineering Department of Anadolu University Vocational School. (He worked as a civil servant for a long time; he retired in 2008 as the Head of Machinery Supply at the Turkish Electricity Distribution Company). Şemseddin Delen began to take an interest in these arts in 1984, thanks to the guidance of his colleague Abdulkadir Uçaroğlu, a tile, ceramics, calligraphy, and miniature artist who recognized his talent. Over the past thirty years, Delen has succeeded in creating unique works in the arts of tile, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature painting, and engraving, using both traditional methods and techniques as well as his own unique approaches; he has also inspired and encouraged many to appreciate and develop these arts. This article provides information about Şemseddin Delen’s life and art and shares images of some of his works with the scientific community and interested parties. (This article is the first scientific-academic publication written about Şemseddin Delen).
Turcology, Şemseddin Delen, tile, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature and engraving arts.