Turkish Pottery

View Toward Constantinople, Turkey

18 in. x 24 in.

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So far we have dealt mainly with those tiles used on walls, and the reason for this is that, with a few exceptions, the dates of construction of the buildings which these tiles adorn are known, so that we have been able to base our assessments on firmer principles. Besides which, there are are so many tiled buildings in Turkey, most of which are decorated with tiles almost up to their domes, that it is natural there should be a good deal more information on this subject. Some pieces from among our wall tiles have found their way to museums in the West by one means or another, and although these are not very many in number, yet their origins are mostly unknown, and it is therefore very difficult to study them or to base on them any definite conclusions. However plates, bowls, water-jugs and similar pottery have gone in greater quantities to foreign lands, and some scholars have made a careful study of them.

On the other hand one can never find in any one piece of pottery the magnificence of design, colour and composition that can be seen on a small panel, and in addition when studying pottery it is difficult to ascertain when and where it was made. So much so that at one time some very wonderful Turkish tiles and pottery (consisting of plates and bowls) were attributed to Rhodes, and it was even said that they had been made in Lindos, and that the art had been brought here by slaves taken from the Turks by the Knights of Rhodes. Wall tiles resembling these designs were also attributed to Rhodes. The origin for this mistaken view is that certain items of Turkish pottery belonging to the XVIth century, found in the Museum of Cluny, had been bought in Rhodes and Lindos and entered in their inventory as such. This mistake was eventually discovered and because of this a great many museums which had classed exhibits as coming from Rhodes had to correct this to Ceramics of Asia Minor.

There is no doubt that studies made in the field of ceramics have to suffer from these drawbacks. Nevertheless pottery doubtless played a great role in the development of this art. Because it was practised on objects in constant use, it was able to spread over large areas, even including places outside the country, and although the dishes, tumblers, bowls, and even water jugs of olden times were made from metal, it is also to be expected that a great amount of porcelain should have been used. Actually at a big banquet during the time of Sultan Murat III, among the things bought there is a long list of various dishes, plates and other objects from Nicea. The total number of these was 1,033, and had all these remained until the present day, besides their relative value, their value in money would have added up to a fortune. In actual fact, however, not one of these items now remain, as is shown in the archive documents.

The Turkish pottery which we still possess to-day goes back at the earliest to the XVth century. These early specimens mostly carry blue designs on a white background. The decorations consist of floral ornamentations and inscriptions. With regard to the pieces of pottery found in excavations at Konya and Diyarbakir studies have still to be made, and these belong to an earlier period. However, in the excavations made at Darüş+015FUifa, at Bursa, some rare pieces were found, rare that is both in design and shape. In our opinion these belong to the XVth and XVIth centuries. It is quite clear that this coloured pottery showed an artistic development parallel to that of the wall tiles, and there is no doubt that in the secound half of the XVIth century quite a number of floral designs, such as the tulip in red relief, the carnation, rose and hyacinth, were used as decorations. On some plates, however, pictures of boats are also seen. And on others are reprsented roe and other deer, rabbits, lions and birds.

Although colours were less widely used in the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries vessels with handles and spouts (ibrik). jars, cups, bowls and flasks, continued to be made. On some of these bowls and plates, and especially on those with a white background, blue linear designs are to be found which are very similar in appearance to the tugras (the shape of the Imperial seal) found on firmans. It has been proved that these were done in Istanbul. In a canal near the Old Palace in Istanbul quite a large number of pieces of pottery were found, and in numerous other places cups, some of which were seen to bear the signature of the maker. As with some of the tile squares, so too on some of the pottery, writings in Greek or Armenian are to be met with, and there can be no doubt that among the craftsmen there were those who wrote in their mother tongue.

With regard to the pendants done for the mosques, one finds either floral decoration on a blue background, or else plain green, white, or turquoise colouring. On the other hand, on those done for churches pictures of angels are often to be seen.

Amongst the reasons responsible for the gradual cessation in the manufacture of wall tiles was, as we have seen, the fact that large buildings were no longer to any great extent constructed, while in those that were were no longer used. Turning to pottery we see that from the beginning of the XVIIIth century onwards the western world started to manufacture porcelain and that it was not carried on in Turkey on the same scale, in addition to which the Turkish tiles had lost their previous beauty. It is very natural that such a reaction should have arisen in a country which had imported thousands of valuable items from China and appreciated their beauty before Europe had started on her porcelain industry. Indeed when this industry progressed in Europe, great popularity was achieved by the chinaware of Sax, Sevres and Vienna, all of which was gathered under the general name of Saxony. Saxony plates were given in the trousseaus of young girls and these plates were also used at parties and even in mosques, especially at prayers where sweets were given out afterwards, such as the Mevlud.

Again, the distribution of a certain kind of Turkish sweet during the month of Muharrem was made in valuable Western bowls, and these bowls were usually given as presents with the sweet (aşure), all of which resulted in a considerable import of this porcelain into the country. However all these dinner sets were made, both in colour and design, to suit the taste of the Turks, and they too have a special distinctive quality of their own. Jugs and basins in which to wash the hands carried floral decorations and some of the tumblers too had on them pictures of buildings and mosques in Istanbul, as well as writing in Arabic characters or tugra, while even the dinner sets, which included artistic ware from Vienna, Sevres, and Meisen, were greatly influenced by Turkish taste. As a result of this Turkish money flowed to foreign lands, while Turkish factories of china became more and more inactive, and gradually most of them closed. At one time a factory was started at Beykoz which began to turn out objects with the trade mark "Istanbul work" and these were very similar to the products of Meisen, but this factory closed down with the death of its founder, Ahmet Fethi Pasha, and Yildiz factory, which was founded by Sultan Abdulhamit II, also closed clown after his deposition.

We shall be happy if our work is able to play a small part in the progress of the art of Turkish Ceramics, which has such a rich history, adapted to the needs of modern life.