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Ebru is known as ‘Turkish Paper’ in the western world. Although the birthplace of this art is not clear, it came to Ottomans in the 15th century from Iran. Since then, paper marbling became one of the important traditional arts of Turkish.
Ebru (Paper Marbling) is the transferring an aqueous surface design to a paper by using a special technique. When the work is complete, the design is similar to a marble pattern.
A viscous solution in a small pool bigger than the paper is prepared. The colors floating on the water are given special designs by the masters who are called ‘ebruzen’ and then the pattern is transferred to a paper or a fabric. Those papers are used on book covers, as wall hangings and in any surface for decorative purposes.
This art was brought to Anatolia by Turks in the 15th century and during the Ottoman Empire we see that it was commonly used on the background of governmental documents and transcripts. Some examples from that period are presented in Topkapi Museum in Istanbul today.
The first famous marble (ebruzen) in Ottomans was Hatip Mehmet Efendi( 1773). After this art started to lose importance in the 19th century, another marble Necmeddin Okyay, (1883–1976) discovered a new technique; flower marbling, which brought the attention back into this art.
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| The young generation in Turkey is having a great interest in this traditional decorative art and Ebru classes are opening in some cities around Turkey. One of the main reasons for the attention to this art recently might be because that marbling is like a therapy to the soul and to a better balanced inner self. |
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Ebru Art - Paper Marbling -
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