Rediscovering Iznik's lost art of vibrant Ottoman tile making

For over 300 years, the closely-guarded secrets of the Ottoman Empire's luminous tile work was lost, but its rediscovery has revived a key part of Turkey's cultural heritage. Renowned for intricate designs and lustrous colours, Iznik tiles are considered the pinnacle of Ottoman art, gracing monuments such as Istanbul's Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. The tiles come from Iznik, a small town near Istanbul with a ceramics tradition spanning two millennia also known as Nicaea, which hosted a landmark Christian gathering in 325 AD that Pope Leo will celebrate when he visits this month.

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Under the patronage of the Ottoman Empire, Iznik’s artisans flourished, obtaining “remarkable achievements” by the mid-16th century, said Professor Ezgi Yalcinkaya, head of traditional Turkish arts at Usak University. They developed a high-quartz stone paste, known as fritware, yielding a bright white background ideal for decorating, transparent glazes and vibrant colours, including a “coral red” for floral designs which “created a distinctive new style”, she said. But when the Ottoman Empire began to decline in the 17th century, the workshops started to close and the artisans, mainly Greeks and Armenians who knew the formula for the stone paste, the colours and glazes, died off. “Knowledge was passed entirely through master-apprentice relationships. The specific formulas — especially for the coral red and fritware composition — were oral secrets,” she said.