Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 2 2013
Ä°znik tile artists briefly paint the town red
NIKI GAMM
Blue might be the color that comes to mind most when one thinks of
Ä°znik tiles, but there was a brief period of effervescence in the 16th
century when red was the color of the day. The period lasted no longer
than 30 years before dropping out of fashion
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Not only did Ä°znik tiles decorate architectural works in Istanbul,
ceramic wares for daily use also found their way into the palace
kitchen for such occasions as births, circumcisions and enthronement
ceremonies and decorated the dining tables of the wealthy. Hürriyet
photo
In the second half of the sixteenth century, there was a brief window
of opportunity during which the ceramic workshops in Ä°znik produced an
extraordinary red color on their wares. The time frame was 1550 to
1580, at a point when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak, during its
classical period. Ä°znik as well as Kütahya had long been centers of
tile-making because the clay soil in their vicinity was particularly
suited to the production of ceramic wares. Wood was readily obtainable
from the woods in the area. Neither of the two cities was very far
from Istanbul and both were on commercial routes. Tile production was
carried out in Ä°znik in the Roman, Byzantine, Anatolian Seljuk and
Beylik eras.
The period when Ä°znik ` and Kutahya tiles to some extent ` reached its
zenith is usually given as 1550 to 1580; however, some experts suggest
this time frame stretched from 1540 to the end of the 17th century.
The shorter frame coincides with support from the imperial palace in
Istanbul. Tile designs were developed in the palace workshops,
transferred to paper and sent to Ä°znik for execution. Some of the most
important architectural works of the Ottoman Empire were erected
during this period thanks to the interest of Süleyman the Magnificent
(r. 1520-1566) and the genius of Mimar Sinan (1490-1588).
Not only did Ä°znik tiles decorate architectural works in Istanbul,
ceramic wares for daily use found their way into the palace kitchen
for such occasions as births, circumcisions and enthronement
ceremonies and decorated the dining tables of the wealthy. In `Turkish
Tiles’ by Ã-zlem Inay Ertem and OÄ?uz Ertem, the authors provide
information on the palace kitchen register for 1582. `For Sultan Murad
III’s son Å?ehzade Mehmed’s circumcision, it states that 541 Ä°znik
plates and cooking pans were purchased from the Istanbul market.
Unfortunately most of the ceramics burned during the famous fires that
were the greatest fear of Istanbulites and because of this, very few
Ä°znik ceramics have survived until now.’
Ä°znik tiles were exported too and even filled orders received from
abroad. The red Ä°znik ceramics were popular in the Mediterranean and
Near East, the Balkans and Europe, and some ceramics with inscriptions
and coats of arms show they were made to order. The Ertems point out
in their book that between 1865 and 1878, the Cluny Museum in Paris
purchased 532 red Ä°znik ceramics by means of the French consul in
Rhodes and that these were displayed as Rhodes-Lindos ceramics. Some
publications show Ä°znik ceramics as Rhodes-Lindos ceramics and some
misidentify them as Milet, Damascus or Haliç Work.
Producing Ä°znik `red’
During the classical period, the underglazing technique replaced
earlier techniques and proved to be a success. The design, color and
quality of the wares produced were superior to those before and after.
Once the clay had been moulded, the piece would be fired. After it
cooled, to put the design on it, a pattern would be drawn on paper and
then holes made with pins. This pattern would be put on the tile or
ceramic piece and charcoal dust scattered over it. The pattern would
be removed and painted, keeping to the outline left by the charcoal
dust. Then a transparent glaze would be applied to the item and it
would be fired again. This was called underglazing and was a
relatively easy technique which led to stylistic changes in the motifs
used. A more naturalistic style was used as the color palette
increased. The Seljuks in Anatolia had favored turquoise, dark purple,
blue and black but now under the Ottomans, green, red and light purple
were added to the repertoire.
The most important of the changes was the addition of a particular red
color that is either described as coral or tomato red or just Ä°znik
red. This begins to appear in the middle of the sixteenth century and
is first used alongside the popular blue, white, turquoise and black
in the interior decorations for Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul from
1550 and 1557.
The coral red was a discovery of the Ä°znik tile workshops and its
secret has never been solved although a British Museum website states
that it comes from an iron-rich red earth, or bole, found in Armenia.
This is entirely possible since a number of the tile-making workshops
in Ä°znik were owned by Armenians. The red produced a slightly raised
texture and a dazzling color; it became the characteristic of the
classical period. But its duration was short, approximately 40-50
years in total and no one was ever able to replicate the color again
in spite of many attempts. This has led to speculation that the
craftsman who discovered this color hid its secret and never related
it to anyone before he died.
Exactly when the use of this red died out is in dispute with some
experts saying it was produced until the beginning of the 17th century
and others that it continued to the middle of that century.
The motifs are clearly built on those of previous eras; however, they
are more naturalistic as the technique was relatively easy to use.
Thanks to the use of the pattern, the outlines of the images to be
colored were laid down in charcoal, and these were almost always
traced in blue and white or sometimes black. It is easy to identify
the flowers, branches, vines, trees, vases, bouquets, birds and animal
figures; however, grapes seem to be the only fruit images used
although apples were not unheard of.
Following the middle of the 17th century, Ä°znik pottery declined and
with it the red for which it was famous. The red was replaced with a
dull brown and the backgrounds ceased to be the bright white it had
previously been. The decline was in part due to the inability of the
imperial palace to pay the high prices that had previously been asked.
Orders were now placed for Kütahya ware that was markedly inferior. An
attempt was made to revive tile-making at the beginning of the 18th
century in Istanbul at the Tekfur Palace near Eyüp, but it gradually
stopped production following the revolution of 1730 that saw the death
of its patron, NevÅ?ehirli Damad Ä°brahim PaÅ?a.
Today we are fortunate in that there are many examples of red Ä°znik
tiles and ceramics in Turkey in the Topkapı Palace Tiled Kiosk, the
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art and the Sadberk Hanım Museum.
Abroad one can find examples in London, Oxford, Berlin, Paris,
Washington, New York, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Athens, Hamburg and Cairo.
November/02/2013
From: Baghdasarian