HISTORICAL DESIGNS
HITTITE DESIGN
A colorful design with primitive depictions of deer, goats, horses, camels, birds; animals that were usefull in one way or another in the daily life of the Hittites.
HITTITE DESIGN
A colorful design with primitive depictions of deer, goats, horses, camels, birds; animals that were usefull in one way or another in the daily life of the Hittites.
RUMI DESIGN
It first originated in Central Asia and was carried to Anatolia with the Turkish clans. Seljuks brought it to its peak. They ruled in Anatolia, which was a province of Byzantine empire at the time. Byzantine empire was dubbed as the second Rome. Their land was called Diyar-i-rum. Hence, the name Rumi, meaning belonging to or characteristic of Rum. Its main motifs are animals, mostly birds and dragons. As the Turkish clans were nomadic they favored animals, especially birds as they are also nomadic.
GOLDEN DESIGN
Turake (a maker of a sultan’s seal) spiral design, which is commonly misnamed as Golden Horn design because it was first excavated during the construction of Sirkeci train station in the Golden Horn region, consists of spiral branches decorated with small rosettes of spring flowers and leaves.
MINIATURE DESIGN
Ottoman miniature, commonly confused with Chinese miniatures, depict daily life scenes, celebrations, weddings, battles and hunts from the 15th and 16th centuries.
TREE OF LIFE DESIGN
Tree of life is an ancient universal motif that can be found in almost every culture. It represents both family and a heaven-earth-underworld interconnectedness with branches reaching up to heaven, the trunk on the earth and its roots in the earth.
When it represents the family, the trunk represents the parents, branches represent children and grandchildren and so on. The heart in the middle represents peace and harmony.
FAMILY DESIGN
A creation of master Galip. Each circle represents a generation of the family. Starting from the centre as a small circle, getting bigger and bigger with each circle, representing the extension of the family through generations. Each circle is filled with colorful flowers found in Turkey, like tulips, roses, carnations, pomegranate, apple tree flowers etc. Sometimes a raised decoration is added, and small dots represent evil eyes to protect the family against bad luck :-))
FLORAL DESIGNS
A very common design in Seljuk and Ottoman traditions. There are several flowers depicted to decorate the ceramic works: Tulips, roses, carnations, hyacinth, lotuses, apple blossoms and pommegranate. Each flower has a symbolical meaning. For instance; tulips represent Allah, both because its inscription in Ottaman alphabet resembles that of Allah and because of the top lines of the motif which are likened to the latter inscription. Roses represent both love and Muhammed, the prophet of Islam. It represents love because it is universally accepted love symbol – that’s why its petals are stylized to look like small hearts. It represents Muhammed because its smell is believed to be that of Muhammed. Carnations represent good health. Hyacinths and lotuses represent the rejuvenation of nature. Pommegranate represents fertility.
GEOMETRICAL DESIGNS
CONTEMPORARY DESIGNS
