Iznik pottery, known as Cini, is highly decorated ceramics named after the town in western Anatolia where it is made based on original designs from the 8th and 9th centuries. Its hayday was in the late 16th century. Original Iznik ceramics were made in imitation of Chinese and Persian porcelain, which were prized by the Ottoman sultans.

As the Turkish potters were unable to make porcelain, the items were made by a special combination of ground glass or glaze combined with clay to reduce its hardening temperature called “fritware”. This lets the mixture be fired at a lower temperature than clay alone. Fritware had been made in the Near East from the 13th century, but in Iznik, this fritware was created with a white surface, which was a major innovation and beautified the ceramics.

In Iznik pottery, decoration is applied on the unqlazed (bisqued) wares and the outlines of the patterns are pounced in fine powder form through a stencil. Seven major colors are used in various combinations, these being blue, purple, red, green, turquoise, grey, and black. The original decoration progressed from pure symmetry to subtle rhythms, incorporating ships, animals, trees, carnations, roses, and of course, lots of tulips.

The individual pottery items are then coated with a very white glaze before firing in an updraft kiln to about 900 degrees C (approx. 1600 degrees F).