The lost face of the 'Gypsy Girl' came to life in jewelry

Inspired by the history of Gaziantep, Altınbaş University Department of Jewelry and Jewelry Design students completed the missing parts of the 'Gypsy Girl' mosaic, which has become the symbol of the ancient city of Zeugma, by blending their imagination and using stones, beads, gold and silver. The missing parts of the mosaics were reshaped with the touches of some students inspired by fabric patterns. Antep's epic struggle during the War of Independence also came to life in the students' designs. Hüseyin and Emu's hundred years of unrequited love inspired a symbolic reunion in jewelry designs.
The designs in the project, which is currently in the sketch and design stage, will be produced by Altınbaş and Asos companies after the evaluation of the academic board of the university. The project aims to introduce Gaziantep's cultural richness to the whole world with jewelry and design.

Jewelry sector met in İstanbul

IJS İstanbul Jewelry Show - 57th İstanbul International Jewelry, Watch and Materials Fair opened its doors in İstanbul. Approximately 1,500 companies participated in the fair, which brought together the leading brands of the jewelry and jewelry industry. A wide range of products including gold, diamond, silver jewelry, precious stones, watches, jewelry equipment, machinery and sub-industry products were exhibited at the fair. Altınbaş University took part in the fair, which was attended by visitors from nearly 150 countries, with a special collection of student designs.

In February, Altınbaş University Department of Jewelry and Jewelry Design and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality realized a comprehensive cooperation aiming to reflect Gaziantep's rich cultural heritage in jewelry designs. Within the scope of the project, students conducted field research in Zeugma Ancient City, Panorama 25 December Museum and various museums. Ancient mosaics, traditional patterns and symbols of the defense of Antep inspired the students. After the research process, the students prepared drawings and samples based on their observations.

Especially innovative ideas such as reconstructing incomplete mosaics with gold, silver and beads and integrating kutnu fabric into jewelry design attracted attention. The selected designs will be produced in cooperation with Altınbaş University's Asos Pırlanta brand and will be offered for sale in the museum stores of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. Thus, both the cultural values of Gaziantep will be made visible and students will gain experience by participating in a real production process. The project is planned to continue with similar activities in different cities.

Cultural heritage project

Altınbaş University Chairman of the Board of Trustees İmam Altınbaş made statements regarding the university's activities and the jewelry industry. Giving information about the Cultural Heritage Project carried out with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Altınbaş stated that they attach great importance to the project.

Altınbaş emphasized that the cooperation with Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality is not only a design project, but also very valuable in terms of carrying cultural heritage to the future. Altınbaş said, “As a family from Gaziantep, we wholeheartedly supported this project. When our Fatma Mayor wanted to carry out such a study, we said, ‘Our university is your university. ’ This cooperation is an important start not only for Gaziantep, but also for revealing cultural values all over Anatolia.”

Altınbaş stated that Gaziantep offers great inspiration not only with Zeugma but also with the Gypsy Girl mosaic and other cultural heritages. Stating that university students and academics had the opportunity to observe the historical and cultural richness of the region on site, Altınbaş said that these observations would inspire designs that appeal to the world market.
'Jewelry making is our father's profession'

Speaking about their deep-rooted history in the jewelry industry, Altınbaş made the following statements: 

“Jewelry is our father's profession. We have been in this sector since 1950. After the 1980s, the production culture in Türkiye gained great momentum. However, the sector could not keep up with this rapid development in terms of human resources. We established our university in 2006 to fill this gap. In 2011, we admitted our first students. We have had a Department of Jewellery and Jewelry Design since day one. Our students who graduated from this department are working as designers today.”

Stating that they attach importance to bringing academic knowledge to the sector, Altınbaş reminded that he continues to serve as the President of the Turkish Jewelry Council and that he was the President of the Jewelry Exporters Association in the past.

'We will bring the historical heritage to light with the most beautiful pieces'

Altınbaş University Lecturer and Assos Diamond Design and Business Development Manager Yasemin Kantarçeken said that the project aims to reflect the cultural values of Gaziantep in the best way. Stating that the produced works will be exhibited and offered for sale in the museum stores of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Kantarçeken said, “During the Zeugma period, many products were produced in Mesopotamia, but most of them were hidden in the pages of history. We will bring these products back to life with the latest technology and create collections.”

Dr. Arzu Altınçelik Teke, Head of Department of Jewelry and Jewellery Design at Altınbaş University, shared information about the university and its educational approaches. Teke said the following:

“Our department was established in 2011. We are a 4-year undergraduate program. We currently have nearly 90 active students. We adopt a holistic education approach that addresses the sector from design to technical drawing, from computer-aided design to marketing. Thanks to our KOP and internship programs, students have direct contact with the sector. In 2023, we received international accreditation. Our students can use their diplomas in all countries except Russia.”

Teke said that the students who did fieldwork in Gaziantep last week visited many museums and that each student developed special designs according to the items they were inspired by.

Designs inspired by history by students

Emine Şeyma Araboğlu, one of the students of the university, shared their experiences after their field trip in Gaziantep. Araboğlu said, “There are very effective artifacts in Zeugma. There are designs that we think we need to complete there and ensure its continuation. We want to work a little bit on the Gypsy Girl. We also want to use the texts written in the artifacts a little; we think it will be very appropriate. Together with her, we are planning to deal with the liberation of Antep historically in the Panorama Museum.”

Şeyma Araboğlu also stated that one of the works that impressed them the most was an unfinished love story. Araboğlu said, “For example, there was a work there that we were impressed by; they were very much in love but they could not meet each other. There was a bloody letter. We want to complete that unfinished love in our products. We thought that we could use the letters there, there was hair, we could take inspiration from there.”

Hejazi: We complete the missing pieces with our imagination

Zeina Hejazi explained the work they carried out within the scope of the project in the following words:

“We took our photos, we started working, we started making drawings and sketches. Samples started. We bought some books from there, they became our sources of inspiration. They gave us fabrics, thanks to them, made with kutnu technique.”

Zeina Hejazi stated that they want to emphasize the kutnu fabric unique to Gaziantep in their designs. Hejazi said the following:

“We want to integrate kutnu fabric into jewelry. In the style of necklaces and bracelets. We want to combine both the motifs in Zeugma and Kutnu fabric. Instead of chains, we plan to use the kutnu fabric in jewelry such as buckles and brooches. The mosaics are incomplete. We want to complete these missing pieces with gold and jewelry. Some will be completed with fabric patterns, some will be made of silver, stones, beads. We plan to complete the pieces using our imagination...”