Karagöz Ayagi Kovada/Karagöz with His Foot in the Bucket

Dr. Murat Huten
Carving & natural pigments on calf leather, 35.5 x 18 cm, NFS

Karagöz’s headgear reflects his original occupation as an ironmonger, someone who makes iron goods. Gypsies often plied this trade, so Orientalists have sometimes identified Karagöz as a gypsy. While this artist shows Karagoz’s foot in a bucket, an old 17th-century figure shows him stepping on a bellows, another tool used in iron production.