Pages: 581-600

This article is in Russian
In autumn 2004, archaeological expedition of Azov Museum-Reserve carried out excavations on the territory of the former Turkish fortress Azak in Azov (Rostov region). According to the maps, the borders of the excavations in the street Genuezskaya 3 went along the North-Western outskirts of Venetian Tana and the Turkish part that was called (“Frank fortress”) by Evliya Çelebi in his famous “Travelogue”. It was the first time when archaeologists had an opportunity to research this old but unknown district of the town. During the archaeological works, which were stopped due to high level of underground waters, only three upper cultural layers of the late 17th—20th c. were studied. Special interest presents the so-called “Turkish” layer of the late 17th — beginning of 18th c., connected with the existence of the Turkish fortress of Azak. A great amount of glazed and unglazed ceramics, brought to the fortress from different corners of the Ottoman Empire, were found there. It is necessary to highlight glazed painted ware, produced in big ceramic centers of Asia Minor — Iznik and Kütahya. Among the earliest finds, there are fragments of red-clay glazed Iznik ceramics decorated with paintings in the style of “Milet”, dated back to the end of 15th — beginning of 16th c. Later objects from Iznik are represented by fragments of faience vessels of 16th—17th c. decorated with blue-and-white and polychrome underglazed painting. Faience coffee cups from Kütahya decorated with cobalt and polychrome underglazed painting date back to the 17th — beginning of 18th c.

Keywords: Azov, Turkish fortress Azak, glazed painting ceramics from Minor Asia, “Miletus ware”, faience vessels from Iznik and Kütahya, paintings in the style of “Abraham from Kütahya”, “Golden Horn” style, “Rhodes” style, “Damascus“style

Information about author:

Irina Gusach (Azov, Russian Federation). Azov History, Archaeology and Palaeontology Museum-Reserve. Moskovskaya St., 38/40, Azov, 346780, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]