Turkish Islamic art of Marbling (Ebru)

Get the latest Flash player

batman7003
October 03, 2006

The word marbling is in Turkish EBRU (cloud, cloudy) or abru (Water face) (En Français. It is derived from the word ebre which belongs to one of the older Central Asian languages and it means the "moiré, veined fabric, paper etc..." used for covering some manuscripts and other holy books. Its origin might ultimately hark back to China, where a document from the T'ang dynasty (618-907) mentions a process of coloring paper on water with five hues. Through the Silk Road this art came first to Iran and picked up the name Ebru. Subsequently this art moved towards Anatolia. Specimens of marbled paper in the Turkish museum and private collections date back as far as the 15th century but unfortunately there is no evidence to show at what date the art of marbling paper first appeared in Anatolia. Around the end of 16th century tradesmen, diplomats and travelers coming to Anatolia brought this art to Europe and after the 1550s, booklovers in Europe prized Ebru which came to be known as "Turkish Paper Turkish marbled paper making". After then it was broadly used in Italy, Germany, France and England.

There is agreement amongst scholars that the so-called Turkish Papers has a colourful influence on the book arts of Europe. In the early examples from the 16th century in the Ottoman-Turkish era, Ebru appears in the battal (large) form, namely without any manipulation. Ebru technique consists of sprinkling colors containing a few drops of ox-gall on to the surface of the bath of water mixed with with kitre (gum tragacanth) in a trough. By carefully laying the paper over the bath, the floating picture on top of it is readily transferred to the paper thus, each Ebru is a unique print. To obtain beautiful Ebru results, one needs to have a light hand, refined taste and an open mind to the unexpected patterns forming on the water. Patience and a good knowledge of traditional culture are characteristic of Ebru masters. Since the art of marbling had a significant importance in Islamic art, it is essential to recall the basic principles of Islamic art in order to have a better and closer look at marbling and thereby reach a deeper understanding. Ottomans tried to express the beauty of the divine in all branches of art. We see them seeking to illustrate mystical beauties in architecture, music and ornamental art. During the 14th to 19th centuries many religious schools, especially Sufi sects, became a kind of "Art Workshop" educating students by a master to apprentice method. Due to the modesty encouraged by dervish precepts many works of art even had no signature on them.

Category: Film & Animation

Tags:

Islamic Civilization Art Turkish Marbling Ebru Heritage Ottoman

More From: batman7003

Play All Stop Autoplaying | Play Next

QuickList(0)

Clear | Save

554 ratings

186,172 views

Favorite

Playlists

Flag

Want to add to Favorites? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to add to Playlists? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to flag a video? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

This video has no Responses. Be the first to Post a Video Response.

Text Comments (208) Options

DebbyDeb (1 month ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

@sharmanti: You would think that, but not really. I work in a museum & occasionally do marbling as a drop-in craft for kids & often adults. I think the nature of color floating on liquid makes it hard to mess up. There is such beauty in the nature of it. Obviously, no one is making anything near what you see in this video, but unless one gets in & stirs the heck out of the paint like they're mixing cake batter, it turns out and pulling the paper is like watching fireworks--oohs & ahhs!

gta4freakk4 (1 month ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Amazing. It brought back such beautiful, creative memories of Turkey.

oritlight (1 month ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

FANTASTIC!!!

simonetr81 (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Büyülendim...
Muhteşem. Tek kelimeyle muhteşem.
Belki de icratı en zor sanatlardan biridir Ebru sanatı... ama yapılırken izlemesi müthiş bir keyif.
batman7003 bu video'yu eklediğin için tşkler, ellerin dert görmesin. marvelous. stunning. all the s*t*a*r*s to you batman7003 !

JihadUlIslam (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Awesome

TrustInIslam (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Wow, this is amazing.

jenjito (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

beautyfull

CoreyisLive88 (3 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Amazing and Beautiful video

Croucer2 (3 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

is very cool

avasheridan1987 (3 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Thats amazing and so theraputic to watch.

Showing 10 of 208 comments

Show More Comments

View All 208 comments

Would you like to comment?

Join YouTube for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.

YouTube	Programs	Help	Policy	Discover
Contact Us	Advertising	Get Help	Privacy Policy	YouTube on Your Phone
YouTube Store	Developers	YouTube Handbook	Terms of Service	YouTube on Your Site
Press Room	Partnerships	Community Help Forums	Copyright Notices	YouTube on Your TV
Business Blog	Content Management	Safety Center	Community Guidelines	YouTube RSS Feeds
YouTube Blog		Creator's Corner		TestTube

Add YouTube to your Google homepage

Current Location: UK Show locations

Turkish Islamic art of Marbling (Ebru)

More From: batman7003

QuickList(0)

Related Videos

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

Text Comments (208) Options

Would you like to comment?