Glazed tile and ceramic household stuffs or wallboards of several colours and motifs made by firing the pulped clay soil are called “çini”. Çini-making means the craftsmanship shaped around traditional Turkish art of çini since 12th century with its own specific production and adornment techniques like “minai”, “luster”, “polishing”, “underglaze”.
Colours, symbols and allegorical narratives in the patterns of çini that are used as household stuff in daily life and that appear frequently in public and religious buildings. These patterns have reflected the beliefs, world views, life styles, perception of people in an artistic and subliminal way from past to present. Thus, çini-making contribute to strengthening the cultural bond between past and present and transmitting the cultural continuity and sense of identity to the future.
The art of Çini also took place in the museums such as the British Museum
“Traditional Craftsmanship of Çini-Making” was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in the eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage took place in Ethiopia/ Addis Ababa, from 28 November to 2 December 2016 on behalf of Turkey.