Kaftans, magnificent costumes made from the fabrics that earned the right to appear in the palace-velour, velvet, ‘çatma’, ‘seraser’, ‘diba’ and atlas (silks).
The patterns designed by the specialized palace painters were woven in the palace workshops,where all the timeless motifs carefully selected for the costumes of the Ottoman sultans came to life.
Patterns, designs, motifs, fabrics, embroideries that never lose their elegance, their aesthetic quality and refined grace.
Şal Vase, which is designed with the inspiration of pine cones representing abundance in Mesopotamia and traditional şal patterns, is decorated by relief patterns from gold gliding and glass paint, on hand made cream opal glass, with Paşabahçe hand workmanship and mastery.
The Yapraklı Vase is an opal glass interpretation and adaptation, in form and design, of the Iznik blue and white antique ceramic jar dated to 1575-1580, currently on exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Hatayi style motifs have been used as ornamentation inside the medallion forms that make up the leaves that are used as the main theme of the vase.
All the patterns of reliefs on the handmade Yapraklı Vase of opal glass have also been produced by hand.
In the beginning of the 16th century there arose, in the İznik blue and white ceramics production, a new decorative style, called ‘Helezonî Tuğrakeş’ or ‘Haliç İşi’ (Golden Horn Work). The pattern was formed by small leaves and floral designs winding around branches applied on opal-glass.
The Haliç İşi Bowl are inspired, in terms of form and design, from the İznik blue and white plate dating from 1535-1545.
The Haliç İşi Bowl are handmade of opal glass, with having on it the handmade reliefs.
The Narlı Aşure Pitcher has a shape inspired by the large pitchers called “Aşurelik”, meaning “ashura dispenser”, used by the Ottoman court and commons to distribute ashura.
Pomegranate and floral patterns are used on the body of the pitcher. ‘Pomegranate’ motif has been regarded as a symbol of abundance and fertility across many cultures and geographies. In Anatolia ‘Pomegranate’ has been one of the most important figures symbolizing fertility since the ancient times.
The Narlı Aşure Pitcher is made of handcrafted green glass, the relief patterns adorning the surface is completely product of craftsmanship.
The lid featuring a pomegranate motif is made of brass.
Flasks are vessels that utilised during military service or on journeys, carried hanging from the waist or the neck. They are made of metal or ceramics and cased in coarse woollen cloth or leather.
Carnation flower used on the Devr-i Alem Flask is painted with tulip and rose shapes as it is solely seen in classical age decorations, and it was designed using carnation patterns which are often seen in 16th century tiles.
Carnation flower, which is present in various objects from kaftans to tiles, to various clothes and artworks, also symbolizes meanings of refreshment, spring and cleansing.
Devr-i Alem Flask is produced from handmade glass, and the relief patterns on its surface are decorated using 24 carat gold gilding, with handicraft.
Swords has been regarded as a symbol of heroism, independence and power for centuries.
Military officers, royals and commanders both in the East and the West have all wielded swords. In the Middle Ages, best swords were formed by heating and forging a high quality metal called “sword egg” and then hardening into different shapes. Various resources mention Turkish civilizations being the most famous swordsmen and their skills in hardening steel.
Ottoman swordsmen are known to shape several kinds of swords, including “ticani”, “mağribi”, “zivziki”, and “tirazi”. On the contrary to heavy swords that required extreme strength in the wrists, curved swords depended on the movement of the wrist.
Wielding these curved swords required a special training and mastery. Sword girding ceremonies during Sultans’ accession to the throne were one of the most irreplaceable traditions of the Palace. Swords were re-used by renewing the parts that age over time. As the firearm usage become widespread, sword production started to decrease after the 18th century and swords were only used as a uniform accessory during ceremonies. In addition to being an important weapon, swords were also considered a meaningful gift. Rulers used to give gold or silver damasked swords with triumph and prosperity wishes and prayers embroidered on their barrels to important civilians or military men.
Kahraman Glass Sword is designed with an inspiration stemming from Selim III’s sword displayed in Topkapı Palace. First three verses from Sura “Fetih” (the Victory) is embroidered on the sword’s barrel.
Kahraman Glass Sword are shaped with handcraft, and patterns on glass sword are decorated with 24 carat gold and aged paints. Metal part is produced from brass.
As tools used in conquests, weapons have always had a sacred meaning in the Islamic world. They have been preserved with great care, often decorated with protective inscription or ornaments. Weapons have also been decorated with talismanic words.
The splendour of the gold damask inlays, inscriptions, vegetal or geometric ornamentations, featured by Ottoman halberds, have deemed these objects both weapons and works of art.
Vekil Halberd has been designed with inspiration from a silver and gold gilded halberd in the Topkapı Palace Arms and Weapons Collection which dates back to the 16th-17th centuries. It features the inscription (ni’mel vekil) found on a Talismanic Shirt displayed at Topkapı Palace.
This is a quotation from the phrase Hasbunallahu ve ni’mel vekil (Allah is sufficient for us, he is the best disposer of affairs).
Vekil Halberd is handmade from glass, and all of the relief designs are hand-gilded with 24-carat gold gilt.
The Black Eunuchs Courtyard in Topkapi Palace was named after the “Black Eunuchs” guarding the Harem gates, whose main responsibility was to control the entrances and keep outsiders away from the Harem.
It is narrated that the Sultan used to the ride on the stony path which runs down the entire courtyard. The walls on both sides of this road are decorated with glazed tiles. The patterns on the Devr-i Lale Vase take their inspiration from these tiles.
Devr-i Lale Vase is made of turquoise blue handcrafted glass and all patterns are embossed using 24 carat gilding and glass paints.
The motifs on the Salbekli Sahan are stylized versions of the salbekli semse from the doors of the Kastamanu Kasabakoy Mosque built in 1366 during the period of Candarogullan Principality.
Salbekli Sahan is produced from hand-made glass and decorated by hand using 24 carat gold gilt and glass paint.
A mdeallion shaped decoration is called “semse”, literally sun. When the two ends of the sun-shaped motif is elongated, it is called “Salbekli semse”.
The palaces as the symbolic landmarks of Istanbul and the objects used by the court have always drawn interest as expressions of power, grace and affluence.
Particularly the mirrors, handcrafted by court artisans and embellished with gems such as emeralds, rubies, diamonds and turquoise, are exceptional pieces reflecting the grace and wealth of the court.
The design of the Sircali Mirror featured in the Istanbul Collection was inspired by the Gemmed Mirror of late 16th century/early 17th century exhibited at the Topkapi Palace Museum.
The stylized abstracts of the original ornaments of the Gemmed Mirror were used on the Sircali Mirror, adorned with colorful glass beads and 24K handcrafted gilding.
Asure, a sweet dish that brings together ingredients such as cereals, sugar, raisins, etc. Of incongruous character, and lacking harmonious relation to each other, eventually forms a whole contributing to vital esthetics.
The Ebruli Asure Jug is based on the form of large asure jugs called “Asurelik” that once used in Ottoman palaces and mansions.
Six different colored glass added to the transparent body symbolize the peaceful coexistence and multicultural aestheticism.
Each jug, being the outcome of a single artist whose hands have meticulously added the colored splinters of glass to the transparent body by an unmatched manual dexterity, is original and unique.
Dating back to thousands of years ago, ‘telkari’ is an art nurtured by the goldsmiths of Anatolia and its many civilizations that produced brilliant works of elegance with painstaking meticulousness.
‘Telkari’ is a test of endurance, weaving the finest tastes, the finest touches of love and labor into meticulously shaped works of art.
The depths of history and the beauty of mythology embroidered into our hearts in a masterpiece of aesthetics as defined by a master from Mardin-‘telkari’.
The thinner the wires, the more the object boasts of its master who has sacrificed his life to his art, producing designs with the most delicate of wires which do not even carry his signature.
Inspired by ‘rumi’ and ‘hatai’ motifs, this vase has been embellished with telkari designs on silver wire on handmade black glass.
The symbol of infinity, the hope of life after death, of belief and endurance, and of eternity-the most favored of life’s trees, of the tree of life. The cypress tree has been an inspiration for the expression ‘she’s as beautiful and as tall as a cypress tree’ and for the prayers against the evil eye on charmed shirts in the palace.
‘Hat(calligraphy)-the inspiration originating from the ‘revelation of the Koran at the Hejaz, with its reading in Egypt and its being inscribed in Istanbul’. For centuries this art has been honored with being the inspiration for both traditional and modern imaginations.
Our intangible cultural legacy’s search of understanding of beauty, of prayer, of luck, of life and death and of spirits, the charmed shirts of the sultans, the cypress tree and the reflections of the Surah of the Conquest, the other verses of the Koran, all reflected on the gold gilding of the relief patterns on his handmade amber glass vase.
Illumination was the trademark of difficult, rich and elegant workmanship in handicrafts. The art produced a host of creative and profoundly stylized forms of roses, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, irises, columbines, jonquils and spring flowers.
From stylized plant/ ‘hatai’ motifs, rosebuds and other florets, to animal, ‘rumi’ patterns, the art opened out to many styles, tastes, designs and decorative patterns.
Deriving its name from the stylized vertical cross-section of a flower in the ‘hatai’ motif is decorated with gilt on all the relief designs on this handmade amber glass.
The design of the ‘Deniz Bowl has been inspired by the wisdom of mystic poet Rumi’s saying “Be like the sea in showing tolerance and forbearance!” The tolerance he mentions here is the one that indentifies language, religion and race as extensions of the understanding of love. This view point lights the way of all religions, beliefs and ideas.
Deniz Bowl symbolizes the term ‘being as deep as sea’ with the motifs of marine species.
Deniz Bowl is produced from handmade blue glass and all the relief patterns are hand-decorated.
Suleymaniye Mosque, a magnificent building in the silhouette of Istanbul, was built by Mimar Sinan between 1550 and 1557 by order of Sultan Suleyman. The main dome with a diameter of 26.5 meters was supported by two half domes, and was expanded by a half double exedra. The side naves create a different effect by covering with five domes including a big, and a small dome. The main dome with a height of 53 meters creates a mystical spaciousness and capaciousness effect. The mosque was illuminated with 128 windows and dozens of oil lamps, a soot room was built on the entrance in order to prevent the pollution of oil lamp soot on the walls and also utilize the soot in the production of ink.
The designs on the Cevher Vase were created being inspired by the designs and calligraphies on the dome of Suleymaniye Mosque. Verses were written successively on the calligraphies of the bowl.
Cevher Vase is produced from hand-made smoky green glass and all the relief designs on it are decorated with handwork and using 24 carat gold.
Hazine-i Humayun, which is one of the significant treasuries of the world includes thousands of works such as gold, silver, various articles made of precious stones, manuscripts, kaftans and clocks.
The collection was created by silver from Ottoman Palace treasury, gifts sultans receive on their enthronement anniversaries, precious metal which are brought by European diplomats to sultans during their vistis, donations and purchased works. It was made available for public visiting in 1924 by the order of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Today, it continues to serve as The Topkapi Palace Museum.
Patterns on Mahizer Bowl are designed with inspiration from a silver bowl of the 16th century from the Topkapi Palace Museum Silver Works Collection, and from a tray which carries the signature of Suleiman the Magnificent.
Mahizer Bowl is made of handmade glass, and the relief patterns on it are decorated with handicraft using 24 carat gold gilding.
The design on the Gaia’s Box represents the Gypsy Girl/The Gaia Mosaic unearthed in the antique city Zeugma;This mosaic dating from the second century A.D. has become the symbol of Zeugma and was named ‘Gypsy Girl Mosaic’. However, according to some sources the figure represents the earth goddess Gaia. In mythology Gaia is believed to be the first element out of which all the gods have sprung. The Gypsy Girl mosaic is in display at the Gaziantep Museum.
The antique city of Zeugma was founded by SeleucosⅠNicatorⅠin 300 B.C. The city was under Roman domination in First century A.D. when it took the name of ‘Zeugma’(Bridge, Pass). In the Zeugma mosaics we observe next to mythological themes, generated by Euphrates of two thousand years ago, have come down to us.
The green glass Gaia’s Box is hand made. The glass surface that displays the mosaic designs is gift with 24 carats gold, while each mosaic piece is tinted by hand with special glass dye.
The decorations on the Kavuk Vase were inspired by the designs of a 16th century porcelain jar found in the Kutahya Museum. The rumi designs on the Kavuk Vase were executed using the enamel technique.
Kavuk Vase is produced with hand-made opal glass. The relief patterns on the vase are hand-decorated with 24 carat gold gilt.
Mavera Vase/Bowl was inspired from the tezhip(illumination) designs on the Quran, handwritten by Shams al-Din Mohammed of the Timurid period, which is on exhibit at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.
The sultans of the Timurid Period(1370-1507) fostered the arts. The Timurid sultan Giyaseddin Baysungur Miraz and other sultans patronized artists and offered all kinds of opportunities to calligraphers and engravers. One of these artists was Shams al-Din Mohammed who wrote the said Quran, one of the most important works of the period.
Mavera Vase is produced by hand-made olive green glass. The relief patterns on the vase are hand-decorated with 24 carat gold gilt.
Kaftans, magnificent costumes made from the fabrics that earned the right to appear in the palace-velour, velvet, ‘catma’, ‘seraser’, ‘diba’and atlas(silks).
The patterns designed by the specialized palace painters were woven in the palace workshops, where all the timeless motifs carefully selected for the costumes of the Ottoman sultans came to life. Patterns, designs, motifs, fabrics, embroideries that never lose their elegance, their aesthetic quality and refined grace.
All of the relief patterns on this vase, inspired by the various motifs of a kaftan belonging to Sultan Bayezid Ⅱ, are decorated in gold gilding and glass paint, on handmade cream opal glass.
Ornamental inlays and mother-of-pearl workmanship were considered a part of an architect’s education in the Ottoman era. Finding the support of the palace, the art of relief was meticulously implemented on mother-of-pearl, tortoiseshell, ivory, ebony and other challenging materials.
Mother-of-pearl inlays, mother-of-pearl workmanship, a true and colorful adornment of our culture became the decorative elements of palaces, mosques, thrones, tables, walls, jewelry boxes, Koran cases, reading desks, pulpits, mirrors, weapons, swords, calligraphy pen holders, doors and windows.
Inspired by the designs on the Koran case that is a part of the Islamic Art Museum’s inventory, this bowl has been adorned in mother-of-pear using a glaze technique on caramel colored glass decorated with gold gilding.
The history of Bozcaada; known as Tenedos in antiquity, dates back to 3000 BC. The island has been continuously used as a settlement from the past to the present.
The first silver coins of Tenedos are dated back to the 6th century BC. The obverses of the coins generally depict a double-faced head one of which is male and the other female.
The Tenedos Vase, in the “Talking Coins”, was inspired by the mythological story of the town. Tenes and Hemithea’s heads in opposite directions and the double-headed axe motif surrounded by the wreath have been applied onto the glass surface of the vase.
The Tenedos Vase has been produced with the injection molding technique from handmade glass. All the patterns on the object have been hand-decorated with 24 carat gold gilt.
‘Saz’ style founded in the first half of the sixteenth century in the Ottoman Palace by a master craftsman named ‘Sah Kulu’, inspired by the patterns of a kaftan cloth that Suleiman the Magnificent had the palace tailors make for his two sons, is used on the decorations of this candle holder; the base is of decorated ceramic, the upper body of handmade glass in relief patterns.
Despite its short history, the architectural zenith of what is defined as the age of enlightenment brings forth a gift of the Seljuk renaissance-‘kundekarii’, woodworking that ‘resemble the blossoms buried under the unexpected sonwstorm’s derived from the pen of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar.
The physical description of ‘kundekari’ is marked by a masterpiece of small geometrical pieces meticulously fitted into one another;
The relief patterns of this series, inspired by the wings of the doors to the Edirne Islamic Art Museum, is painted in gold gilt using glass paint, on black handmade glass.
During the Ottoman Empire, those who wanted to work as architects were first required to master the secrets of inlay. Inlay, the colorful and harmonious voice of our culture, is an art form used to decorate palaces, pavilions, mansions, mosques, thrones, coffee tables, walls, jewelry boxes, doors and windows at the time of the Ottoman Empire.
The inspiration for this chest came from the many masters who designed jewelry boxes to acknowledge and show respect for the power of the emperor under the extensive sovereignty and influence of the Empire. The chest’s relief designs are decorated in gilt using glass paint, on handmade glass.
By Seljuk artisanship which includes geometric discipline, contrasts between substance and meaning, the good and bad, the beautiful and ugly, and which can express power, beliefs and charms with elegant abstractions in all sorts of daily objects from architecture to tombstones, from walls to door knobs and jewelry.
By the unique esthetic values the Seljuk civilization created, by its elegance which leaves its mark on what is universal, its unique work, mastery and craftsmanship.
The hand-made vase uses gold gild in its relief designs and glass paints.
The place in Anatolia that was first to celebrate the masterpieces of the stone-masters, the location that preserved its stone and the workmanship of its masters-Hasankeyf.
Carving their emotions, hopes, joy, sadness and pain into the stone just as writers and artists would do, the stone-masters gave meaning to the adage of ‘earning your bread from stone’. This is our tribute to Hasankeyf-and to the stone-masters who illuminated, from their vantage point in the past, our todays and tomorrows, who inspire us and make us proud.
The inscribed stone relief pattern of ‘Esma’ul Husna’appearing on the portal of the El-Rizk Mosque of the Era of the Eyyubis, on handmade glass, decorated with glass paint covering all of the relief patterns, with the same pattern unaccompanied by writing on the natural travertine base.
The Gate of Heaven is one of the major gates of the Divrigi Grand Mosque. The motifs on it were likened to paradise gardens and describe the paradise and its layers. The descriptions of the unique heavenly blessings in the verses in the Holy Koran were embellished here on stones.
The motifs on the Divrigi Vase are inspired by the motifs of the Gate of Heaven of the Divrigi Grand Mosque.
The Grand Mosque and its hospital was registered as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1985.
The Divrigi Vase is handmade from cream opal glass and all relief motifs on it are decorated with 24-carat gold and antique paints.
Wahid means “one” in Arabic. As one of Allah’s 99 names, it means “the one with no equivalent or similar, eternal”. Wahid does not mean countable.
The gondola is decorated with mirrored calligraphic depictions of “waw” and “wahid”.
The Vahid Gondola is produced with handmade glass and the relief designs on it are made by hand using 24 carat gilt.
Boza, which is one of the oldest known Turkish beverages, was produced and consumed in old Ottoman territories and in some parts of Central Asia.
Boza sellers who were servicing in Hagia Sophia Market, Hippodrome, Kadırga Port and around Aksaray, supported the Ottoman army with their boza which provided warmth and fullness.
It is the beginning of the 19th century that boza reached its old reputation.
Sarayişi Boza Server took its form from the big silver forms which were used by Ottoman palace community to serve, called “boza server” and was inspired by a boza server which included İstanbul roses on the surface.
Sarayişi Boza Server is produced from handmade glass, and all the relief patterns on it is decorated by handicraft, using platinum silvering. The flower patterned cover is made by inlay workmanship on brass, from silver coated material.
HABITAT SEKERLIK
HABITAT SEKERLIK
The shield is an angular or round defense weapon made of leather or metals, which was designed to protect the body from penetrating or cutting weapons before the invent of firearms. It was held in the left hand and was made in rectangular, round or raised forms. Shields were named after the materials they were made of. Iron shields were named ‘hacefe’, steel and round shields were caleed ‘yaleb’. Another type was named ‘matrak’. Shield manufacturing and adornment held an important place in Turkish handcrafts.
The Enameled Shield Vase was adapted based on decoration patterns found on the 16th century Ottoman shield on display in the Topkapi Palace Museum. The design in the center was inspired by the ceramic 16th century plate found in the Kutahya Museum.
The Enameled Shield Vase is handmade from white opal glass, and all the relief patterns are hand-decorated using 24-carat gilt and colored by enameling technique.
In the Ottoman cuisine, sherbet was an emblematic delicacy and a cherished beverage on the dining tables of both the palace and the people. The Ottomans created different kinds of sherbets for different occasions and made it a tradition to serve it to their guests. The serving of sherbet was as important as making it. Sherbet carafes and cups made of precious metals such as silver and brass were used for this purpose.
Has Oda Sherbet Cup was inspired by the traditional sherbet cups used in the palaces. Plant decorative motifs of the Privy Chamber (the Throne Room) of the Topkapı Palace were used on the cup.
Has Oda Sherbet Cup is made of handcrafted glass. All of the relief patterns were manufactured by hand, using 24-carat gold gilding and glass coloring.
Zülfüaruz refers to an Ottoman ornamentation consisting of curved motifs. It is also a beautiful precious flower.
Strikingly beautiful “zülfüaruz” flowers that come in white, pinkish purple, purplish blue, cream and yellow, are frequently mentioned in literary works and poetry.
The decorations on the Zülfüaruz Bottle were inspired by the designs on a bottle from 16th century found in the
Kütahya Museum. It features rumi style depictions of flowers.
The Zülfüaruz Bottle is produced with handmade opal glass. The relief patterns on the vase are hand-decorated with 24 carat gold gilt.
The art of weaving - a history that spans as far back as the days of man’s early settlements. Our textile arts have won the admiration of the world with their motifs, colors, materials and patterns. An art that has passed down traditions, values and beliefs from generation to generation, allowing the threads of communication to flow from the past to the present. Our weaving arts include young textile actors such as the kilim that are still with us, along with the kilim’s close colleagues, ‘cicim’, ‘zili’ and ‘sumak’.
Kilim Vases use motifs that symbolize woman’s fertility, femininity, fecundity and the sacredness of the female figure.
All of the relief patterns are handmade decorations, on handmade glass.
Selimiye Kubbe Sahan is decorated with patterns on the dome which is located in front of the inside courtyard of Selimiye Mosque.
Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex, which was included in UNESCO’s Tentative List of World Heritage in 2000, was inscribed as a World Heritage in 2011.
Selimiye Kubbe Sahan is made of handmade glass and all the relief patterns on the product are decorated with 24-carat gilt and painted with aging technique. The bowl is made of Afyon black marble.
The root of the word for gold, ‘zeheb’, was adopted by the masters of illumination and thus ‘tezhip’, meaning ‘to gild’, took on the task of decorative art and initially became a close friend to the art of calligraphy. When the palace encouraged the development of the art of illumination, opening the way to the creation of extraordinary masterpieces, the art became the crowning glory of ornamentation, embroidery, adornment, and even the art of weaving. It was also adopted in the art of decorating Islamic books and in Ottoman decorative crafts.
All of the relief patterns on this interpretation of classical illumination design on a classical vase form have been gilded in gold on handmade glass.
Illumination was the trademark of difficult, rich and elegant workmanship in handicrafts. The art produced a host of creative and profoundly stylized forms of roses, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, irises, columbines, jonquils and spring flowers. Besides the famed gold and dark blue that was used, illuminations were depicted in a rich variety of tones of orange, green, carmine, pink, yellow, purple and black. From stylized plant/hatai’ motifs, rosebuds and other florets, to animal, ‘rumi’ patterns, the art opened out to many styles, tastes, designs and decorative patterns.
All of the relief patterns on this interpretation of classical illumination design on a cubic vase form have been gilded in gold on handmade glass.
“Zerver” means gold gilt in Farsi. The Zerver Vase embodies the patterns of a fabric from the Beylerbeyi Palace applied in a stylised manner.
One of the most important crafts in the Ottoman Empire was weaving and many unique samples of these still exist in our day.
The fabric from which the patterns on the Zerver Vase were used was produced in Hereke Fabrika-i Hümayun where the rarest samples of weaving were produced. The factory established in 1843 was the most extensive manufacturing premises established on weaving. Fabrics that were weaved in this factory were foremost used in the Dolmabahçe Palace as well as the sultan’s other palaces, mansions and pavilions.
Zerver Vase is produced from handmade green glass and all the relief patterns on its surface have been hand-decorated with the use of 24 carats gold gilt.
The Rumili Bowl is inspired by the form of a 15th century copper lamp in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. The motifs used on the bowl are stylised interpretations of the decoration on the lamp.
Stylised lotus flowers, floral decoration and rumi motifs set inside lobes adorn the body and lid of the bowl.
The bowl is handmade from glass, and all the relief designs are gilded by hand with 24 carat gold and decorated with glass paint.
Ottoman cuisine is about the art of food, food culture, rich tables and variety of dishes. Since the time of Mehmet the Conqueror who built the Topkapı Palace, food was prepared in kitchens called Matbah-ı Amire. Matbah-ı Amire had units such as the Private Kitchen, Aghas Kitchen, Divan Kitchen, Halva Kitchen, Pantry and Tin Workshop.
The Ottomans used specialized equipment and utensils in line with their food culture.
An important dish among these is a sahan, a shallow copper, brass or ceramic container with a lid used to heat and serve food.
The motifs on the Nargül Sahan are inspired from the motifs on a ceramic bottle dating from 1585-1595. The ceramic motifs dating from the period of Murat III are quite different from the standard floral motifs.
Nargül Sahan is produced from handmade glass and decorated by hand using 24 carat gold gilt and glass paint.
For centuries, the fine penciled lines of the ‘kalemkâr’ appeared in civil, religious, military architecture, in interiors and on exteriors. The existence and impact of ‘kalemişi’ rests at the center of decorative art; this classic art has deserved to be recognized as the words of the painter.
The journey of the art of ‘kalemişi’ started in Central Asia and dates back to Turkish Uygur art; it then arrived on
Anatolian soil and has been carried through the centuries.
Inspired by the ‘kalemişi’decorations on the Tomb of Sultan Mehmed III, all of the relief patterns on this bowl, with its ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammed’script written in kufi style along the border and the names of the four caliphs on its body, are painted in gold gilt and glass paint, on handmade glass.
The motifs on Zal Bowl are inspired from the ceramics of Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque in Eyüp, Istanbul.
Zal Mahmud Pasha Mosque is a social complex comprising a mosque, madrasa, shrine and fountain. Zal
Mahmud Pasha and his wife Shah Sultan had Mimar Sinan build the mosque in 1577.
Zal Bowl is produced from caramel colored handmade glass and decorated by hand using 24 carat gold gilt and
glass paint.
Motifs on the Seyran Pitcher are inspired from the designs on the hardcover of the Hafız Divanı manuscript dating from 1581-1586 in the Safavid period. The manuscript is in the archives of the Topkapı Palace Library.
The original of the forest miniature on the Seyran Pitcher includes representations of human figures, as well as real animals and mythological animals such as simurgs, chi’lins and dragons.
Seyran Pitcher is produced from handmade glass and decorated by hand using 24 carat gold gilt and glass paint.
Flasks are vessels that utilised during military service or on journeys, carried hanging from the waist or the neck. They are made of metal or ceramics and cased in coarse woollen cloth or leather.
The Seyyah Flask was inspired by the leather flask housed in the “Guns and Armour Collection” of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The original item dates back to 1581.
“Seyyah” Flask is produced of handmade glass. The relief patterns on the bottle are hand-decorated with 24 carat gold gilt.
Ewers are narrow necked lidded vessels with rounded bodies, tall narrow spouts and handles. They were used to hold water for washing the hands before and after meals, and in the Ottoman palace and private homes for serving sherbet and other beverages.
The Hanedan Ewer is decorated with geometric and floral motifs inspired by the decoration on a 17th century silver censer in Topkapı Palace Museum. The handle of the ewer is made of tombak, which is gilded copper produced by the traditional method of dissolving 24 carat gold filings in mercury, and brushing this solution onto the surface, then firing at a low temperature to cause the mercury to evaporate.
The Hanedan Ewer is handmade from glass, and all the relief designs are gilded by hand with 24 carat gold and decorated with glass paint.
