Turkish arts

Islamic Art varies substantially from Western Art due primarily to restrictions in the Koran on depicting the human form. Rather than being representational of the profane world, the perfection of Ottoman art lies in the pure balance of color, line and rhythm in geometric patterns and designs.

Of the Ottoman arts, Calligraphy was the most important. Such mundane items as tax reports, property deeds and imperial edicts became exquisite works of art. This aptly reflects the bureaucratic nature of the empire, with its stress on writing and registering. Turkish calligraphers contributed to the development of new and more ornate styles of calligraphy. Each of the sultans had their own monogram in stylized script, called a Tugra Sultan Ahmet III and Sultan Bayezit II were skilled calligraphers. In 1928 Ataturk introduced the Latin alphabet, sounding the death knell of the art of Arabic calligraphy in Turkey. Many of the greatest works were preserved in the extensive Ottoman archives and can be seen at Topkapi Palace and Ibrahim Pasha Museum (Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts)

Marbled paper or "Ebru" is an art form that was developed in Turkey in the fifteenth century. Mineral and vegetable dyes are sprinkled on water mixed with gum and the gall fluid of cattle, over which a sheet of paper is laid, creating unique and unrepeatable patterns. Traditionally, this paper was used for borders on Ottoman panels and miniatures, and for the inside covers and flyleaves of books. Today mass-produced marbled paper is used for such purposes, though the art of marbling continues.

TURKISH BRACELETS

The bracelet is a very ancient form of human adornment, and the designs of the earliest surviving examples suggest that, like so many other types of jewelry, they were originally a form of talisman or magic charm.

All women, from the queen in her palace to the rural woman in her cottage, whatever their income or cultural level, have always enjoyed wearing bracelets. But apart from their decorative qualities, bracelets have had other functions. For example, copper bracelets are still believed to relieve pains in the joints, and in former times bracelets containing agate, a stone regarded as sacred amongst the Turks were believed to protect the weaver against bites by venomous animals.

Studded with stones, patterns chiseled out for niello designs, gold plated using mercury, or decorated with tiny silver drops to produce the jeweled effect known as Güverse, the bracelet completes its trial by fire on the forge and is ready to encircle the wrist of a loved one.

A wide range of other techniques are used to make or decorate silver bracelets. One of the loveliest is filigree, and similar types woven with circular or flat silver wire. Another is engraving. Often two or more techniques are combined in a single bracelet, and some techniques are associated with the place where they are commonly made, such as Trabzon Hasiri - a type of filigree bracelet or Mardin telkari..

Bracelets worn around the ankle are called halhal, an Arabic word meaning ankle. These are worn in many countries from Africa to India, including the eastern and southeast parts of Turkey. Traditionally halhal were made from a string of hollow spheres containing tiny metal beads, so that they made a pleasant tinkling sound as well as looking attractive. Rural women used to their children so that when they were busy working in the fields and orchards they could hear where they were playing even when they were out of sight, and would be warned by the sound if they strayed off.

Today, there are many decorative bracelets made with Nazar Bonjuk beads as well.

  

The art of embroidery most likely traveled west with the Turkic nomads from their Central Asian homelands. It was widely used; the military equipment of the Selcuk and Ottoman janissaries and military band-Mehter included tents, pavilions, banners, saddles and holsters richly embroidered with motifs and battle scenes, many of which are preserved in the Military Museum. Religious hangings for mosques, prayer carpets and Koranic cases were covered in graceful floral patterns in delicate colors offset with silver and gold. Many of the items of daily life, such as towels, bed coverings and veils were similarly adorned. For the Ottoman Court, silk brocades and velvets were elaborately for ceremonial purposes, often using gold or silver threads on purple velvet. Embroidery designs were based on the geometric and floral patterns used in ceramics and woven silks, though motifs and styles varied from village to village. But tulip design had always a special place in peoples heart. The women of the harems produced magnificent work for their dowries (Çeyiz) or trousseaux and to grace their bridal chambers on their wedding nights. This art form reached its creative peak in the 16th century and then was revived again around 100 years ago with the establishment of Girls Technical Schools where it is still commonly taught. Many excellent examples can be seen in the Topkapi Museum and the Sadberk Hanim Museum in Sariyer - Istanbul ,

Carpet weaving is one of the most ancient crafts in Turkey, and for centuries, women have played a pivotal role in their creation.

Village women have woven carpets for family use. A daughter had a greater chance of marrying if she was a skilled weaver and would offer carpets as part of her dowry to her future husband. She would take great care in the dyeing and hand-spinning of wool and in the selection of  designs and motifs, some of which were related to her daily life and tribal culture.

The knotted rug appears to have spread from Central Asia westwards through Persia and Anatolia with growing Turkish empires.

Historically, the Turks were among the earliest carpet weavers. Floor rugs have been known since ancient times going back to Assyrians and Babylonians but these were not knotted rugs but woven fabrics. The knotted carpet does not appear in Islamic countries until the emergence of the Seljuks in the 12th century. Marco Polo notes in his travel diaries that Konya, the Seljuk capital, was the center of carpet production in the 13th century. Carpets and kilims, rugs without a knotted pile, have been used by nomadic tribes as floor coverings in their tents. They provided comfort, warmth as well as decor.

Seljuk carpets can be characterized by geometric and stylized floriate motifs in repeating rows and by Kufic inscription border patterns. By the beginning of the 14th century, animal figures emerged in Turkish rugs. By the 16th century, the medallion motifs and the diverse foliate compostions had taken over, as the influences of the expanding Ottoman territories and the Iranian and Mamluke art were felt. The period claims two major groups of rugs; the Usak rugs with the essential motif of a medallion and the Ottoman court rugs with naturalistic motifs. Ottoman court rugs also started to use silk in the warp and the weft on the looms of Istanbul and Bursa.

 

The first major development in the art of Islamic tile-making occurred primarily in Anatolian Seljuk architecture. Mosques, mescits (small mosques) and minarets, were decorated with turquoise and purple and reddish glazed brick to produce a variety of geometric compositions and kufic inscriptions. Small mosaic-like pieces of tile were also combined to create certain designs. The tendency towards complexity in decoration in the second half of the 13th century is paralleled with the occurrence of twin minarets.

Tile mosaic decoration became highly developed in Anatolia during the Seljuk period. It is a complex and visually diversified technique, generally applied to such interior surfaces as domes, squinches, arches, panels and mihrabs. Tiles in turquoise, and less frequently in purple, cobalt blue and black glazes were cut to the required shape to form a decorative composition. The cut pieces were placed, according to a design, in a mosaic-like pattern.

The late 15th and early 16th century marks the beginning of a new period in Ottoman tile and ceramic-making. The most important center active at this time was Iznik. Designs prepared by artists who were employed in the studios of the Ottoman court were sent to Iznik to be executed in wares ordered for use at the palace. The court's patronage stimulated and supported the development of an artistically and technically advanced ceramic industry in Iznik.

The earliest example of the new styles that emerged in the early Ottoman period are the 'blue-and-white' Iznik ceramics. The techniques involved in their manufacture are quite advanced as compared with anything previously done

 
As late as the middle of the 16 century, the Ottoman ceramic industry was producing more utensils than architectural tiles. Thereafter however production shifted heavily in favor of the latter as there was a strong surge in the demand for tiles as decorations in the extensive building programs undertaken by Suleyman I (1520-1566) and his successors when the Ottoman Empire was politically, economically, and culturally at its peak. Countless examples of mosques and tombs not only in Istanbul but all over the empire were adorned with the products of the Iznik potters' skill.

These underglaze-decorated ceramics and tiles were decorated with a rich palette of shades of cobalt blue, turquoise, green, black, brown, and the famous 'coral' or tomato red, the last of which appears in a slight relief resembling sealing-wax. In tiles, this red appeared for the first time in Suleyman I's great mosque, the Suleymaniye (1557), in Istanbul.⁷ But other tiles in the same style were to grace numerous monuments erected in Istanbul during the years that followed: the Tomb of Hurrem Sultan (1558), the Mosque of Rustem Pasa (1561), the Tomb of Suleyman I (1566), the Mosque of Sokullu Mehmed Pasa (1572), the Mosque of Piyale Pasa (1573), and the Valide Atik Mosque (Uskudar, 1583).

Although the traditional designs of stylized plant motifs, arabesques, and Chinese clouds appear in the compositions, there is a shift towards a more naturalistic style in which tulips, carnations, hyacinths, roses, spring blossoms, lilies, cypress trees, and clusters of grapes and vine leaves appear. Compositions are relaxed and free, offering greater scope for experimentation with new and richer arrangements.

 

 

Different styles of calligraphy adorn the tile friezes on monuments; on utensils we find images of ships, 'rock-and-wave' motifs, triple-spots, animal figures, and fish-scale patterns. There is also a proliferation in vessel forms of which deep and footed bowls, vases, ewers, dishes, lamps, candle-holders, and mugs are but a few.

To summarize, the art of Turkish tile and ceramic-making developed over the centuries incorporating many different techniques and styles. Enriched by the arrival of the Seljuks, the ceramic industry in Anatolia achieved a deservedly worldwide reputation with the support of the Ottoman court. Today, Kutahya has been revived as an important center of tile and ceramic-making. In addition, efforts are also being made in private workshops and educational institutions in Iznik, Istanbul, and Bursa to keep the art of traditional Turkish tiles and ceramics alive and develop it so that it can address the demands of modern-day life.