Ottoman Arts and Stuffs

Ottoman Art

          The Ottoman Turks were particularly well-known for their architecture, and they built a number of public buildings, mosques, and caravanserais--roadside inns for travelers--as well as keeping up with traditions such as calligraphy and miniature painting. Their decorative arts were famous too, and these included carpet weaving, jewelry making, paper marbling, and--special to their culture--Iznik ware ceramics. The Ottoman mosques and other architecture were first modeled off Byzantine styles, like the ones seen in the Hagia Sophia, and Ottomans were able to master the technique of creating large inner spaces that topped off with huge, vast domes, complete with tasteful articulations of light and shadow. There were numerous vaults, domes, square dome plans, slender corner minarets, and columns in their mosques, and this remained basically uniform throughout the empire. During the high classical period found in Turkey, the Balkans, Hungary, Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, many mosques, bridges, fountains, and schools were built. A particular mosque with striking aesthetics is the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne, which is flanked by four tall minarets and crowned by a monumental dome. The interior is lit by a number of tiny windows that caused the tiled walls to glitter. Miniature painting was a skill that involved a team of painters--the head painter designed the composition and his apprentices drew the contours and painted it in. Coloring was provided by ground powder pigments mixed with egg whites or diluted gum arabic. This resulted in vibrant, brilliant colors, the most common of which were bright red, green, and varying shades of blue. Paintings were stylized and abstract to aim towards an infinite and transcendent reality, although, as time progressed, they became more realistic due to influence from the European baroque and Rococo styles. Carpet weaving was particularly significant during this time, and they were used as decorative furnishings and for practical value, used on floors, walls, and doors which provided additional insulation. They were intricately knotted carpets made up of either silk or a combination of silk and cotton. The patterns on the carpets were most often full of religious symbols and other types of symbolism. Hereke silk carpets, made in the coastal town of Hereke, were the most valuable of Ottoman carpets due to fine weave and were typically used to furnish royal palaces. The Ottoman gold and silver smiths were renowned for their skill, able to make jewelry with complex designs and incorporate various Persian and Byzantine motifs in them. Their ceramics were also famous, particualrly Iznik pottery, which was produced in western Anatolia. It consisted of high quality pottery made of fritware and was painted cobalt blue under colorless lead glaze. Detailed designs combining Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese elements were made upon it.

Mughal Art

          Mughal Art was an eclectic style that was shaped by major influence from the European Renaissance, Persian sources, and Indian traditions. Its most significant contribution to the Indian subcontinent was architecture. Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, brought about the golden age of Mughal architecture and arts, with the construction of many beautiful monuments--the Pearl Mosque, the Red fort, the Jama Masjid of Delhi, and the Lahore Fort. His most famous piece of architecture is known worldwide today--the Taj Mahal, built in memory of his third wife. It stands on a square plinth and is completely symmetrical, featuring an iwan--an arch-shaped doorway. The Taj Mahal is topped by a large dome and finial. Its basic elements are Persian in origin. The Taj Mahal's base structure is a large cube with many chambers and chamfered corners, basically forming an unequal octagon. Each side has a huge pishtaq (vaulted archway) which frames the iwan with two similar, arched balconies stacked on opposite sides. This motif is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, so the design is absolutely symmetrical on all sides of the building. Four minarets frame the tomb, with one on each corner of the plinth. They are facing the chamfered corners. However, the most spectacular feature of the Taj Mahal is its giant marble dome. Because of its shape, it is often referred to as an onion dome, or amrud (guava dome). Its shape is further emphasized by four smaller onion-domed kiosks, known as chattris, placed at its corners. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, and this finial is topped by a moon, which is an Islamic motif. The minarets were built to fall away from the tomb, in case of collapse, and constructed slightly outside the plinth. Mughal painting was a unique blend of Indian and Persian styles, with a combination of certain motifs, naturalistic effects, and structuring principles from both cultures, as well as from European Renaissance and Mannerist painting. The Mughals overthrew the Muslim tradition of miniature painting and developed their own. Soon, the Mughals delved into realistic painting, mostly centering around animals and plants. Memories and diaries of Mughal emperors depicted rich scenes from nature, court life, hunting, and battles, as well as portraits and portrayals of varying events.