BY Safir Kaylan | October 13, 2010

Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection is part of the Pera Museum in İstanbul.

I visited Pera Museum, which is in the middle of a very vibrant and in revival neighborhood-Beyoğlu–last fall. The collection consists of 400 pieces representing various periods and styles. The collection also features a significant area of craftsmanship in Ottoman art from the 18th and 20th century and its development in progress.

From the collection brochure, we learn that after İznik, Kütahya was the most important center of ceramic production. Due to the abundant deposits of clay in the area, ceramics were produced in large quantities during the Phyrgian, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times. The traditional techniques of this art have survived in the city of Kütahya to the present day. The monochrome glazed bricks found in the minaret of Kurşunlu Mosque dated 1377; the turquoise and dark blue panels that were used for sultans tombs and color-glazed border tiles with Anatolian Palmetto motifs found in the same structure dated 1433 which signify the early examples of the tile production in the area.

18th century ceramics have a white or cream colored paste and feature a white slip and transparent glaze. In underglazed decorated tiles, the motifs were are painted in green, turquoise, yellow, cobalt blue, purple and red ocher and are outlined in black.

As of the second half od the 18th century, Kütahya ceramics entered a period of decline in terms of quality. However, the resurgence observed in the late 19th century, as well as the state support in the first years of the Republic, sustained this rich tradition to date. During the first half of the 20th century, Kütahya tiles and ceramics were revived significantly with the influence of the 1st National Architectural Movement. Works from this period featured Seljuk and Ottoman architectural and decorative motifs, which in turn resulted in the production of outstanding tiles and ceramics.

Kütahya tiles and ceramics developed as “urban art” along the line that falls between İznik ceramics, which primarily represent “court art” and Çanakkale ceramics which are often regarded as “folk art”. Both in terms of the production of architectural decorations and of objects for daily use, the ceramics of Kütahya attained a wide product range across the years. This widely admired and timeless art form constitutes one of the most important assets of te Ottoman mosaic of craftmanship.

Muslim and Christian craftsmen work together at the Kütahya workshops in the production of tiles and ceramic objects designed to meet the needs of both communities. Dated to the 18th century, tiles with abstract floral motifs in cobalt blue on a white background appear for the first time in this period. They can be seen today installed in many churches in İstanbul and Venice as well as in many number of mosques in Anatolia and Cairo.