Tiles, and ceramics make up another group of handicrafts that flourished in Turkish hands in Anatolia and achieved previously unattained levels of perfection.

Seljuk tiles produced from the end of the 12th century and throughout the whole of the 13th represent one of the most successful forms of architectural decoration to emerge during the Middle Ages. The Seljuks developed a wide repertoire of applications ranging from glazed brick to mosaic and from colored-glaze square tiles to the star-shaped luster tiles decorated with mythological creatures in Kubadabad Palace. Examples of the wealth of Seljuk architectural tiles are to be found all over the world and there are two excellent collections in the Karatay Medrese Museum in Konya.

Among the Ottomans, the 16th century marks the highwater-mark of tile, ceramic, and colored-glass manufacturing. Iznik tiles and pottery from this period achieved new heights in the technique of under-glaze decoration. Outstanding examples made during this century still gladden the heart adorning the monuments of the architect Sinan while the collections of Topkapi Sarayi and the Tiled Kiosk are instructive and illuminating. Concentrated in the two principal centers of Iznik and Kütahya, Ottoman tile and ceramic-making went into a decline in the 17th century. An attempt to revive the industry at Tekfur Sarayi in Istanbul in the 18th century was only temporarily successful.
 

You can find these remarkable tiles and Ceramics reproductions in Istanbul, in Cappadocia and on the Turkish Coasts. Please note that, shopping is great fun when you are in a reputable gallery or a store.

Contact us for Private Shopping Tours in Turkey.

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• Creamic arts