HISTORY OF TURKISH TILE ART

Çini (earthenware glazed tiles) are usually used in architecture, and products such as pots and bowls are referred to as ceramics.

Although the word Çini might seem to have something to do with China, experts accept that the art is totally indigenous to the Turkish people.

Until the 18th century, çini in architecture were called “Kasi” and çini objects used in daily life (plates, vases, bowls etc.) were called “evani” (kitchen equipment). At that time, Chinese porcelain was very popular and widely imported. In order to emphasize the quality of the Turkish-made “kasi,” these began to be called çini.

Çini, which is a branch of ceramic art that developed in Central Asia, was brought to Anatolia by the Seljuks. It occupied a very important place in Ottoman architectural decoration and embellished mosques, medreses (theological schools), tombs and palaces. The early Ottoman period continued the Seljuk heritage. Geometric writings with figures, plant designs, and yellow and green colors were used. İznik, which also used to be a center of ceramic art, maintained its dominant position between the 14th-18th centuries.

In addition to the İznik workshops, which lost much of their importance in the 17th century, Kütahya became another center for ceramics in the 15th century, although the quality of its products was inferior to those of İznik. Kütahya-styled ceramics are generally blue, red, yellow, purple and green.

In the 18th century, Çanakkale ceramics that demonstrate regional characteristics appeared. After the 17th century, ceramics began to degenerate. Up to the republican period, we mainly see Kütahya and İznik ceramics, as well as Yıldız porcelain, the raw material for which was imported from France.

In the 18th century, the ceramic arts in Iznik finally died out. At the same period, Kütahya cini reached their peak but began to lose quality during that same century. In the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, Iznik designs began to be imitated elsewhere. Today, the center of this art is Kütahya. Here, Seljuk designs and colors are widely imitated.

Detailed information : www.kultur.gov.tr