Iznik town, surrounded by citadels and also known as Nicaea, is a charming settlement located on the eastern shores of the namesake lake in Marmara Region, and was the most important centre where ceramics and tiles were produced during the Ottoman Empire in order to adorn the most monumental architectural monuments of the 15th – 17th centuries AD.

For centuries, Iznik ceramics and tiles, which were the fruits of cooperating masters, from the moulders of mud, to glazers, from the ornamental designers to oven handlers, were the subjects of greatest appraisal and had spread to numerous museums and private collections around the world. Like the textiles and carpets of the same era, these ceramics and tiles, where daily needs met with aesthetics, were very high in demand in world markets and assumed a significant role in the economy.

This exhibition was being planned for quite some time and Ömer M. Koç Collection of Iznik Ceramics and Tiles were intended to be exhibited in Sadberk Hanım Museum to introduce them to arts and academia circles. There are 330 pieces in the exhibition. The exhibition starts with the early Ottoman period Iznik Ceramics and Tiles and stretches as far as to include the 17th century works of art and the development of the art of Iznik Ceramics and Tiles can be clearly witnessed. The pieces of these two collections were painstakingly brought together over a period of time and consist of wall-panel tiles as well as various forms of pots and plates, which are the best samples of the art of ceramics produced by Iznik workshops. In these works of art, the infinite creativity of ceramic masters, their wealth of repertoire of composition, the skilful use of range of colours and that their incessant search for new techniques were exhibited once again. As well as bringing together these pieces of art, which may have been produced from the same soil, perhaps in the same oven or even shaped in the hands of the same master, it is just as important to show the advanced technological level that the Ottoman ceramic industry has reached between 15th – 17th centuries AD. One can easily say that despite the incredibly wide composition repertoire of the Iznik craftsmen, it is still possible to come across a tile or a ceramic with a completely new and unique design and ornamentation.