Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form
The Ottoman Empire, at its height, extended from Iraq in the east, to Vienna in the west, and North Africa to the south-west. Its beginnings lay with the defeat of the Byzantine Empire by Ottoman Turkish forces, the capture of Constantinople, and the change of its name to Istanbul. That capital city became a center of culture, architecture and art, under the enthusiastic patronage of the sultans – at least until the mid-17th century.
At the beginning, the Ottoman artists added local artistic traditions to their Chinese and Iranian repertoire. In the 16th century, a Chinese-Buddhist motif of leaves was added to the old ones of arabesques, tendrils, flowers and birds. Toward the end of the 17th century, European influences began to infiltrate Ottoman art, giving rise to a style that became known as Turkish Rococo.
The town of Iznik became the center of Ottoman pottery from the end of the 15th century through the first quarter of the 16th. At first, the style of the ceramics was dominated by a profusion of blue-and-white decorations, influenced by Chinese motifs: lotus flowers, stylized clouds, and arabesques. In the 16th century, a series of vessels was developed known as “Damascus ware,” distinguished by the addition of purples and greens. The decorative element changed as well, to include a naturalist representation of flowers.
As Iznik declined, many of its artists moved to Kütahya, though some left Turkey altogether and settled in Syria and the Land of Israel. They opened workshops there, producing the style of Ottoman pottery that had been identified with Iznik. Most Ottoman paintings featured the sultans, and scenes from their royal courts. Illuminated royal decrees, known as firmans, were another art form that has survived from this period. The Ottomans excelled in weaving rugs, silk, velvet and brocade. Made for royalty, they were considered the acme of the weaver’s art, competing – from the 16th century – with the products of Venice and Spain. Plant motifs and arabesques were the most common designs.
