Coffee Break: The Adventure of Coffee in Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics

This unique selection from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection investigates the various routines, rituals, and relationships centered on coffee, as well as concepts associated with modernism, such as public space, social roles, and economics, t
Pera Museum
May 6th, 2014 – Dec 31st, 2017
Istanbul, Meşrutiyet Caddesi No.65 Tepebaşı - BeyoğluMap
, 'Ewer,' First half of the 18th century, Pera Museum

Ewer, First half of the 18th century

Pera Museum

, 'Rosewater Sprinkler,' First half of the 18th century, Pera Museum

Rosewater Sprinkler, First half of the 18th century

Pera Museum

, 'Sugar Pot,' Second half of the 20th century, Pera Museum

Sugar Pot, Second half of the 20th century

Pera Museum

, 'Cup,' End of the 18th -beginning of the 19th century, Pera Museum

Cup, End of the 18th -beginning of the 19th century

Pera Museum

, 'Sugar Pot,' First half of the 20th century, Pera Museum

Sugar Pot, First half of the 20th century

Pera Museum

, 'Coffee Jug,' Beginning of the 18th century, Pera Museum

Coffee Jug, Beginning of the 18th century

Pera Museum

, 'Tray,' First half of the 20th century, Pera Museum

Tray, First half of the 20th century

Pera Museum

, 'Cup,' First half of the 18th century, Pera Museum

Cup, First half of the 18th century

Pera Museum

Press Release

Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics exhibition is renewed with a thematic selection.

Discovered in Ethiopia as the “magic fruit,” and reaching the land of the Ottomans through Yemen in the 15th century, coffee soon assumed its place as a prestigious beverage in the palace and wealthy households. Over time, coffee not only generated its own rituals and ceremonies, but also played an instrumental role in the development of social life. This unique selection from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection investigates the various routines, rituals, and relationships centered on coffee, as well as concepts associated with modernism, such as public space, social roles, and economics, through an examination of coffee culture and Kütahya ceramic production, which largely contributed to its development.

As the second most important center of ceramic production after İznik during the Ottoman era, Kütahya witnessed intensive ceramic production in the Phrygian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, and has upheld this art form to date with traditional methods. Having reached its zenith in the 17th and 18th centuries in terms of creativity, the ensuing years witnessed a decline in variety and production rate of Kütahya tiles and ceramics. It was once again revived in the late 19th century and, standing somewhere between İznik and Çanakkale ceramics as “urban art,” became an integral part of the Ottoman art mosaic with its broad product range and continuity.

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