Tile Panels
Bursa’s Journey from Principality to World Empire PANORAMA 1326 CONQUEST MUSEUM TILE PANELS Originating with the Uyghurs and continuing to the present day, tile art is one of the traditional Turkish arts. It reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries with İznik tiles and was commonly used for interior and exterior decoration of architectural structures such as mosques, pavilions, palaces, fountains, and tombs. Tile production involves quartz, glass powder, and clay. These materials are fired, ground, formed into dough, shaped, and then undergo various stages before being baked to reach their final form. Tile art is divided into wall tiles (Kaşi) and functional ceramics (Evani). Due to their colors and patterns, certain periods are strongly associated with tile art, and it is now linked with specific cities. The tradition has been passed down through master-apprentice relationships, and the emergence of economic value has kept the art alive. The tile panels specially designed for the “Panorama 1326 Bursa Conquest Museum” are inspired by motifs and styles from masterpieces built in Bursa during the peak period of İznik tile craftsmanship, including the Green Tomb (Yeşil Türbe), Yeni Kaplıca, and Şehzade Mustafa Tomb. They were reinterpreted by tile artists Turgut TUNA and Şebnem TUNA using traditional methods. 1. Green Tomb Panel The mîrî (state-owned) buildings featuring Turkish ceramic examples begin with the Green Tomb. The first examples in the Green Tomb were created by Tabrizli-Ilkhanid masters, successors of the Seljuks, as indicated by the tomb’s inscription. The main decorative elements of the Cuerda Seca (colored underglaze technique) tiles, first seen in Bursa in the 14th century, include floral and vine motifs, as well as Rumi and Thuluth script borders. The typical colors used in this technique are turquoise, cobalt blue, purple, black, yellow, lilac, and white. This panel design, consisting of hexagonal tiles made using the colored underglaze technique, is modernized with plain turquoise hexagonal tiles, inspired by examples from the Green Tomb and Mosque in Bursa. 2. Yeni Kaplıca Panel The Yeni Kaplıca Bath in Bursa was built in 1552 by Rüstem Pasha, the vizier and son-in-law of Suleiman the Magnificent. The tiles were produced in İznik. The colorful underglaze technique gradually evolved into a purely decorative technique with colored glazes. The hexagonal tile panels feature eight distinct decorative compositions. All decorations are botanical, using blue, white, turquoise, lilac, and green. Hexagonal tiles decorated with tulip, carnation, pinecone, hatai, Rumi, and hyacinth motifs are unique, making it the only bath in the world created in the Damascus (Şam) style. 3. Şehzade Mustafa Tomb Panel Built in 1555, 21 years after the death of Şehzade Mustafa, son of Suleiman the Magnificent, the tomb’s tiles date to the second half of the 16th century. They feature carnations, lilies, tulips, hatai, and hyacinth motifs, created using the underglaze technique. The addition of red in this technique reached its pinnacle in Şehzade Mustafa’s Tomb. Continuous innovation in tile art can be traced in Bursa’s monuments, representing a rare example of sustained artistic development.
