Visual structure analysis of compound reliefs of milli hats used by men in Makriyan region

Abstract

The major part of Kurdish arts has been traditionally created by women. These  women have inherited old distant memories generations after generations and will also leave them as inheritance to succeeding generations. The most significant of these arts is the art of knitting which bears significant importance amongst women. The Milli hat is one of the most elaborately hand-woven crafts created by Kurdish women in Makriyan region. They use diverse ways of symmetry to bring graceful and exquisite reliefs into being and present them to their men. The present study aims to collect, identify and visually analyze the compound recurring reliefs on this type of hat. The research was initiated with the question “What are the visual structure and visual characteristics of compound reliefs applied on Milli hats by men in Makriyan region?”. The descriptive-analytical method is used. Therefore, the reliefs were firstly collected and identified based on field-study method, then they were  separated and analyzed in terms of visual structure of reliefs. The results showed that most decorative motifs used in this type of hand-woven craft had geometric structure. They were generated using diverse methods of symmetry and created
various and beautiful reliefs with live geometric structure. The compound reliefs were mostly created by translational symmetry. The data were collected using field-study method, written sources, library as well as a global information network (Internet).

Key Words: traditional arts, Milli hats by Makriyan, compound reliefs, symmetry