A Brief View to the Ottoman Glass Art

Abstract

In this study, the development of the Ottoman glass art is evaluated chronologically and briefly. "Glass" has been one of the most important material in mankind history and almost has been used in every area of life. As a raw material in nature, glass, after being shaped in various ways, has been used by man. Although it is unknown how glass transition has occured to the Ottoman culture, in this civilization, glass handcrafts had been produced which shows peculiar style aesthetically. The Ottoman glass art has been developed in Istanbul and according to various papers, circulated to E?rikap?, Eyüp, Balat, Ayvansaray, Bak?rköy, Beykoz, Pa?abahçe, Çubuklu and ?ncirköyü regions. In these regions, glass production has been made by different features and dimensions. There are three type of glass produced in the Ottoman culture:simple glass,coloured glass, crystal glass. In addition to the glass used for the windows of the building, a variety of glassware that meets the needs of everyday life,is also very important for the industry. During this period, the glass products are classified into three groups: luxury products, useful items, glass products made to be used in everyday life or in the army and embroidered glass or flat glass for windows in old buildings. But remaining examples of glass products -because of the nature of its material, fragility- which will allow us to able to read the history of the Ottoman glass art from the beginning to the end, consist of only precious artifacts preserved in the museum. Studies on the Ottoman glass art in modern art history is quite limited. It is hoped that our study will contributes to research on the Ottoman glass art.