Traditional Furniture In Turkish Houses

Turks, for many years, lived as a nomadic community in tents (called Yurt) in The Middle Asia. Starting in the 11th century they began migrating to Anatolia, where they continued their lives in the plateaus in summer and in the settled villages in winter. The Seljuk Turks in Anatolia, The Turkish Principalities and The Ottoman Empire that was build up in the 13th century and expanded in size and culture, then on provided a period of transition for Anatolian Turks to settle down. The nomadic culture, the Islamic world sight the Turks adopted together with the historical values of the Anatolian culture made a synthesis and formed a new style and culture. Turks, as a result of their settled life in Anatolia, made up the famous model the Turkish house in which they benefited from the furniture shaped by their own culture, tradition and needs. Because of the structure of the Turkish- Islamic way of thinking based on the few but the main principle, very few furniture was used in Anatolian Turkish House for years. More importance was given to functional and at the same time decorative qualities of the furniture used in homes. The traditional Turkish furnishings that vary in number in terms of the materials and the manufacturing technique used, convey the most beautiful models of the Turkish handcrafts and woodworks worth to see. TRADITIONAL FURNISHINGS The term Turkish house has developed and acquired an authentic sense in the period of The Ottoman Empire. In those houses, group mentality can not be seen among the furnishings. However, the furnishings are harmonious with each other in size whereas are complementary in terms of their functions. As being fixed furniture depending upon the architecture, shelves, built in closets and sherbetlics were used, while as for sitting sets on the other hand, surrounding sedir were placed all around where necessary. However sandik, besik / cradle, sehpa / stool, rahle and kavukluk kind of wall were used as portable furniture. In Turkish Houses portables do not always stand in the middle. For instance rahle was only used when Koran or other books would be read or sehpa would be used only to put something on. THE MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES AND THE MATERIAL Furniture-making is shaped by the formation of the object which has a specific type and function according to the insight of the craftsman in terms of decoration and skill. Different kinds and colors of wooden materials are used. For the work of the wooden object; carving openwork (ajur), tenon (kundekari) and such techniques were made use of while for the embellishments inlaying, overlaying and painting were used, for decorative reasons. Mother of pearl, ivory, tortoise shell, antler, gold gilding and madder have been the fundamentals of decoration. Each individually being an art work , for the brilliance and conservation of the wooden furniture ; gomalak / shellac, lak / gum lac, mum cila / wax and such type of special mixture varnishes were used. THE WOODEN FURNITURE MANUFACTURING CENTERS In the period of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa, Edirne and Istanbul the capital cities respectively in time- some special ateliers were established. Besides, there were independent craftsmen creating works carrying the local cultural characteristics in different Anatolian cities. Each furniture and manufacturing center had its own style and the copies of furniture produced their in were tried to be made in either outer lands of or in provinces under the Ottoman Empire. The works were called according to the center where they were manufactured: As Istanbul work, Adalar work, Edirne work or Uskudar work. While some elaborately dressed works are produced in centers and in cities

effected by those, man in Anatolia used the furniture he embellished and painted. Too many honorable experts are trained to transform the object to an art work. THE ORNAMENTATION PROGRAM While naturalist, improvisatory designs, flower, leaf and plant motifs, flags, crescent-star, Kaaba pictures were used on the furniture in the Turkish houses in rural areas, in the city houses, stylized plant motifs, geometric patterns, heraldries, naturmontal embellishments were used that were introduced to Ottomans in the period of Tulip Period in the 18th century because of occidentalizm. The European furniture which varied in number and in model after the Industrial Revolution, in the 19th century was introduced to the palaces, kiosks and lodges of the upper class Ottomans by the catalogues and presentation of the merchants . Therefore , as well as the already used designs like animal figures, imperial monograms-tughras-, medallions and heraldries; Baroque, Rococo, Imperial and Art Nouveau styles also were added to Turkish ornamentation program of furniture. TRADITIONAL FURNITURE MATERIALS IN THE TURKISH HOUSE The materials to be introduced below are few original examples used in Turkish houses and they bear the value of being important representatives and witnesses of Turkish cultural heritage and life culture. http://www.adasofa.com/read_blog/blog_cat/traditional-furniture-in-turkish-houses-40.html