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ARCHAEOLOGY TRADITIONAL ARTS METAL ARTWORK METAL ARTWORK

ARCHITECTURE
FINE ARTS METAL ARTWORK

TRADITIONAL ARTS METAL ENGRAVING

Miniatures
Marbling
BRAZIERS
Kaat'i TOMBAKS AND BRASS
Calligraphy [edit]
Handwritten Books
Tugra
METAL ARTWORK
Ottoman Fermans
Bookcovers
Metal Artwork Turkish metal artwork dates as early as the 2nd and 3rd century BC in central Asia. In Anatolia,
Lamps the oldest existing Seljuk piece of metalwork is a silver tray with the inscription "Alp Arslan is the
Glass Art Greatest Sultan" and a silver candle stick dated 1137. Both pieces are at the Boston Museum of
Jewelry
Fine Arts. Metal artwork reached its pinacle in the Ottoman Empire with the making of weaponry,
Wood Artwork
Leather Artwork such as swords, helmets, armour, dagger and knives. For domestic ware, copper or copper/zinc
Stone Carving (tombac)was the material of choice although bronze, silver and gold were also used. A mass of
Tomb Stones copper would be beaten with a hammer (dogme) and turned into a slab, which would then be
CERAMIC ART shaped by an artizan to the desired form.
TEXTILE ARTS
CARPETS AND KILIMS
The choicest specimens of Seljuk and Ottoman metalwork can be seen at the Museum of Turkish
LIFESTYLE
and Islamic Art. Like the other branches of art, the Ottoman art of metal at the outset took over
CULINARY ARTS
the Seljuk cultural heritage, with the result that it became a melting pot for a variety of trends
MUSIC
as befits an empire that combined many lands and peoples. The widespread implementation in
PERFORMING ARTS
the 14th century of the art of repoussé, familiar to us from Seljuk metalwork, is one of the
LITERATURE
outstanding features of the period
PHILOSOPHERS
MILITARY
GENERAL The 15th century, when the Ottomans embarked on the path towards becoming a world power,
NATURE and the conquest of Istanbul in 1453 especially, constituted a turning point in the art of metal as
in many other fields. With the conquest especially of the Balkan lands, which were rich in gold
and silver, the Ottomans acquired metalworking artists who possessed not only the raw material
resources but also a long-standing tradition. Mamluk influence is observed in the oil lamps in the
shape of hexagonal pyramids in a group of works typical of the period. The countless examples of
such lamps, decorated with openwork, repoussé and intaglio and adorned with rumî and hatayî
motifs, that have survived to our day show that they were produced abundantly in the second half
of the 15th century. Candlesticks also occupy an important place among the metal work of this
period.

Among the Ottoman metal work that has survived to our day, a plethora of objects dating to the
period of Sultan Bayezid II stand out. Although Bayezid II’s passion for valuable objects has been
viewed by historians as prodigal, its impact on art was positive, and it is a fact that the creation
of new works was a compelling force in the encouragement and patronage of artists. The Ehli
Hiref or craftsmen’s organization, which served as a school for every branch of Ottoman art, was
established in this period. Subsumed under it were the coppersmiths (‘kazganciyan’), who made
metal objects; the goldsmiths (‘zergeran’), who produced jewelry of all kinds including gold; the
gold inlayers (‘kûftgeran’ or ‘zernisan’), who produced gold inlay and other decorations, and the
‘hakkâk’ who cut and set precious stones. All these divisions of the Ehli Hiref had a role to play
due to the great diversity of decorative techniques employed in the art of metalwork.

As a result of the cooperation and work of the masters who brought diverse traditions and
concepts of art to Istanbul from various parts of the Empire following the conquest of Tabriz and
Egypt in particular, the Ottoman art of metal was purged of manifest influences in the mid-16th
century and found its own unique style. A number of decorative techniques were generally
employed on the decorative objects made in this century including intaglio, repoussé, filigree,
chasing, niello, embossing and metal plating. But the group that best represents the overall
character of the period is without doubt that of the metal objects known as ‘murassa’ (studded
with precious stones). It became fashionable in this period to embed precious stones in metal
surfaces such as swords, daggers, book covers, slabs of emerald, natural crystal and even
porcelain by using the technique of stone inlay. In contrast with the ostentatious style of the 16th
century, there are also plain examples which stand out simply for their harmonious proportions
and fine workmanship.

Flowers also begin to appear alongside the classical 16th century styles in the decorative motifs
of the 17th century. Emerging under Western influence, these are composed of floral motifs
worked in Turkish style. Besides the traditional motifs such as the plaited frieze, tree of life, Seal
of Solomon and fish observed on copper objects of the period decorated mostly using the intaglio
technique, naturalistic designs such as tulips and pomegranate blossoms, familiar from silver
objects of the period, are also encountered. The Ottoman art of metalwork, which is observed to
have remained bound, in part at least, to the traditional forms at the beginning of the 18th
century, continued the naturalistic style of the 17th century as well. Besides the western-oriented
quest for form and motif, there was also a tendency to maintain the classical tradition. Late 18th
century and 19th century metalwork in contrast appears to reflect entirely western taste.
 The classical Ottoman shapes and motifs of the 16th and 17th centuries eventually gave way to
Baroque and Rococo forms and designs imported from Europe. The Ottoman art of metal, which
was attempting to emulate Western products in this period, is observed to have been particularly
successful in the technique of intaglio, of which it created fine examples in pieces such as the
coffee sets, ewers, trays, jugs and mirrors that were so popular during the period. When
examining the ‘Turkish Rococo’ products of the Ottoman art of metal, we see a transformation in
taste. Pearls and cut diamonds supplant colored stones such as the ruby, emerald and garnet of
the classical period in jewelry and inlaid work, and enamelling also becomes popular. Similarly,
embossing with a mould replaces the more demanding technique of repoussé using a graver,
which requires skill. As for the floral compositions, which are still used, these now take the form
of sumptuous baskets with enormous bows and garlands made in keeping with contemporary
fashions. The changing political and economic fortunes of the 19th century Ottoman world
naturally affected Ottoman art as well. The gradual weakening of the Ehli Hiref organization in
the palace and its complete disappearance in the 19th century spelled the end of the brilliant
evolution of Ottoman art. As the state, with increasing frequency, sent the gold, silver and even
copper objects in the Treasury to the Mint to be melted down, the extant specimens of the
Ottoman art of metal, which had been based on the recycling of materials for re-use, began more
and more to belie the richness cited in the sources. The objects that were able to be preserved in
the Palace Treasury and other extant specimens, most of which survive only because they were
donated to tombs and mosques.

References: Alev Özay/SKYLIFE, Metin Sozen and Semsi Gonen, 1999, Hurriyet, Istanbul, Turkey.

Some selected examples (please click on pictures to enlarge):

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