Want to buy a Turkish tea set? Interested in the history of antique Turkish tea sets? Want to know how they are made? Whatever it is, our brief guide to Turkish tea sets gives you the facts & information you want to know.
Turkey was ruled by the Muslims for over 600 years. The era is popularly known as the Ottoman Empire that spread over three continents. During this era Turkey went through a series of unparalleled developments. Up until the latter half of the Ottoman rule the empire was known to have been foremost in the fields of art and architecture, technology, education and many others. Turkey became the center of learning for the whole world and this is where people would turn to look for inspiration. In the many years of Muslim rule Turkey managed to leave behind a powerful legacy of art and culture amongst the other things that it excelled in. Although the empire started to decline and eventually disintegrated with the declaration of Turkey as a nation state, the arts and crafts of that time are still highly regarded through out the world.
Turkish Tea Sets
Amongst those things that have gotten Turkey world fame are their original and unique tea sets that are truly stunning. The Turks were the masters of innovation. They would take what they could of other nations in terms of knowledge and skills and develop many new branches out of them. The tea sets are also amongst those things that the Turks started to develop for another reason but ended up getting real famous for them. It was recorded that during those days China was the leading producer of ceramic and porcelain. In an attempt to compete with the Chinese the Muslims began to develop there own Porcelain and ceramic goods. The art form was called cini which was initiated during the 15th century. But just like the Turks would take from other nations and work on those ideas to further develop them the tea sets that were produced as a response to China came into a class of their own.
Making Turkish Tea Sets
The Muslim artists of that time worked hard to evolve new and unique patterns and an ingenious use of color to bring about a whole new revolution in design. The art form was formalized and perfected in the 16th century during the Ottoman rule. Although the great Empire has long been forgotten the legacy that it has left behind in the shape of these tea cups continues to be one of those things that still remind us of their glorious rule and the contributions that they have made to the world of arts in particular.
The art form is still held in high respect through out the world. Many artists have learnt this skill and are still producing tea sets in resemblance to those of the Ottoman Empire. The work of many of the modern artists who have tried to maintain this unique legacy of the Muslims can be seen on vases, jars, plates and bowls. Since the whole process of creating these tea sets is completed by hand you will find slight variances in the designs. Often times the artists hard work would be ruined with the detection of a minor fault later on during the process. None the less Turkey continues to produce the tea sets in likeliness to the Ottoman tradition and that has resulted in the world wide popularity of these amazing handcrafted artifacts.