Traditional Craftsmanship of Çini-Making

Çini are traditional, handmade glazed tiles and ceramics made in Turkey, featuring colourful motifs of plants, animals, and geometric patterns. These tiles are often seen on building facades and in homes throughout the country, adding vibrant beauty to everyday life.

Çini-making, the art of creating these decorative pieces, has deep roots in Turkish culture, especially in regions like İznik and Kütahya. For centuries, Çini tiles have been used to adorn mosques, palaces, and homes, showcasing both artistic skill and cultural identity.

Nurhan Atasoy & Julian Raby: Iznik, The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, 1994 edition (2006, December 16). Photo by: Dosseman. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/9k8fbe9w

Materials and Techniques

The process starts with a special clay made from quartz. Artisans shape the clay, fire it at high temperatures, and then hand-paint the designs using natural pigments. These colourful patterns are sealed with a final firing, giving the tiles their long-lasting shine and brilliance.

A Key Element of Ottoman Art

Çini tiles have been a major part of Ottoman architecture, decorating the interiors and exteriors of many historic buildings. Beyond their decorative function, they reflect the artistic vision and cultural values of the era.

Passing Down the Tradition

The knowledge and techniques of Çini-making are passed on through:

Apprenticeships: Since the 14th century, young artisans have learned from masters (ustas) in workshops, following a traditional, hands-on teaching method.
Modern Education: Today, Çini art is also taught in public education centres and vocational schools across Turkey. These courses cover both basic skills and advanced restoration techniques.

Why UNESCO Recognition Matters

Çini-making is listed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This recognition:

Helps protect and promote the tradition globally
Encourages both respect for traditional methods and freedom to explore new styles
Offers artists opportunities to showcase their work internationally

Çini-making is a proud part of Turkey’s cultural heritage. It connects the past with the present through beauty, skill, and meaning. Thanks to both local efforts and UNESCO recognition, this craft continues to live, teaching and inspiring new generations, and sharing Turkish creativity with the world.

Participants

2 responses

Jelena Krivokapic says:

23 July 2025 at 10h36

Despite UNESCO’s recognition, I think that intangible cultural heritage still remains less visible and more vulnerable than the tangible heritage. Whi... Read More

Despite UNESCO’s recognition, I think that intangible cultural heritage still remains less visible and more vulnerable than the tangible heritage. While the inscription of tangible heritage, as buildings or historic sites… acts as a powerful label that attracts tourists, media coverage, and investment, intangible heritage, including crafts, does not benefit in the same way from UNESCO recognition. Monuments (tangible heritage) can be visited, photographed, marketed as destinations, communicated across social media…making them easier to promote and hence increasing the possibility of their protection and necessary, needed funding. Intangible heritage, on the other hand, lives through people, skills, and everyday practices. It cannot be “visited” but must be experienced, transmitted, and supported through active engagement. As such, its preservation relies less on recognition alone and more on sustained policies, education, and community recognition and involvement.

But what if we stopped treating tangible and intangible heritage as separate spheres? Could their impact grow if we began to position them as equal and deeply interconnected? Instead of focusing solely on architectural structures, we could tell stories about the techniques, materials, and craft practices behind them. We could promote regions not just through monuments, but through immersive craft experiences highlighting living heritage alongside the physical. By doing so, we could create a more holistic narrative…perhaps the closest to this concept is the recognition and UNESCO definition of “cultural landscapes”, uniting at the same time people-nature-culture

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Jean Pierre Mateus says:

1 September 2025 at 13h39

As a glassblowers instructor, this presentation of Turkish Çini raises several interesting questions for me about how heritage crafts evolve.

First... Read More

As a glassblowers instructor, this presentation of Turkish Çini raises several interesting questions for me about how heritage crafts evolve.

First, I’d like to understand how they concretely manage the balance between “respecting traditional methods” and “freedom to explore new styles” mentioned in the UNESCO framework. This is a challenge we face too: how far can you innovate without undermining the essence of the technique?
Next, the transition from the traditional master-apprentice (usta) system to teaching in public centers and vocational schools intrigues me. How do they preserve that subtle transmission of gesture, that sensitivity to the material that only develops in the intimacy of a workshop? The mention of “advanced restoration technique courses” suggests professionalization – doesn’t this risk creating two parallel paths, one more academic and the other more artisanal?

Finally, the historical architectural aspect of Çini makes me wonder: what are the main outlets for these artisans today? Do they still work on contemporary architectural commissions, or have they primarily shifted toward decorative arts and the tourist market?
These questions don’t challenge the value of this UNESCO recognition, but I’d like to better understand the economic and pedagogical realities behind this beautiful heritage preservation.

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