Ottoman decoration in the context of "Arabesque"

Iznik pottery, or Iznik ware, named after the town of İznik in Anatolia where it was made, is a decorated ceramic that was produced from the last quarter of the 15th century until the end of the 17th century. The Ottoman Turkish motivation for creating İznik ware was to imitate the prestige and symbolic value of Chinese porcelain, not its specific decorative designs. While their conceptual origin lies in Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, their decorative design is a distinct Ottoman adaptation of the International Timurid style. This adaptation is marked by a transformation from the prototype's languid quality to a more forceful and contained design, distinguished by its intensity and three-dimensional feel. Technologically, these wares are unique, differing from the methods used for contemporary Iranian pottery and Ottoman architectural tilework. This distinct manufacturing process is thought to be an invention of Anatolian potters.

İznik was an established centre for the production of simple earthenware pottery with an underglaze decoration when, in the last quarter of the 15th century, craftsmen in the town began to manufacture high quality pottery with a fritware body painted with cobalt blue under a colourless transparent lead glaze. The change was almost certainly a result of active intervention and patronage by the recently established Ottoman court in Istanbul who greatly valued Chinese blue-and-white porcelain.

Ottoman Baroque architecture, also known as Turkish Baroque, was a period in Ottoman architecture in the 18th century and early 19th century which was influenced by European Baroque architecture. Preceded by the changes of the Tulip Period and Tulip Period architecture, the style marked a significant departure from the classical style of Ottoman architecture and introduced new decorative forms to mostly traditional Ottoman building types. It emerged in the 1740s during the reign of Mahmud I (r. 1730–1754) and its most important early monument was the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, completed in 1755. Later in the 18th century, new building types were also introduced based on European influences. The last fully Baroque monuments, such as the Nusretiye Mosque, were built by Mahmud II (r. 1808–1839) in the early 19th century, but during this period new European-influenced styles were introduced and supplanted the Baroque.

Ottoman architecture is an architectural style that developed under the Ottoman Empire over a long period, undergoing some significant changes during its history. It first emerged in northwestern Anatolia around the end of the 13th century and developed from earlier Seljuk Turkish architecture, with influences from Byzantine and Iranian architecture along with other architectural traditions in the Middle East. Early Ottoman architecture experimented with multiple building types over the course of the 13th to 15th centuries, progressively evolving into the classical Ottoman style of the 16th and 17th centuries. This style integrated the Ottoman tradition with influences from the Hagia Sophia, resulting in monumental mosque buildings focused around a high central dome with a varying number of semi-domes. The most important architect of the classical period is Mimar Sinan, whose major works include the Şehzade Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, and Selimiye Mosque. The second half of the 16th century also saw the apogee of certain Ottoman decorative arts, most notably in the use of Iznik tiles.

Beginning in the 18th century, Ottoman architecture was opened to external influences, particularly Baroque architecture in Western Europe. Changes appeared during the style of the Tulip Period, followed by the emergence of the Ottoman Baroque style in the 1740s. The Nuruosmaniye Mosque is one of the most important examples of this period. The architecture of the 19th century saw more influences imported from Western Europe, brought in by architects such as those from the Balyan family. Empire style and Neoclassical motifs were introduced and a trend towards eclecticism was evident in many types of buildings, such as the Dolmabahçe Palace. The last decades of the Ottoman Empire saw the development of a new Ottoman revivalist style, also known as the First National Architectural Movement, by architects such as Mimar Kemaleddin and Vedat Tek. Since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, the traditional Ottoman style has been imitated in the construction of many new mosques in Turkey and in some constructions projects beyond Turkey.

Tulip Period architecture was a stage in Ottoman architecture in the early 18th century. New types of decoration were introduced into the existing classical style of Ottoman architecture and new types of buildings, such as stand-alone fountains and libraries, became important landmarks. The style is most closely associated with the Tulip Period (1718-1730), a period of peace during the reign of Ahmed III when architectural patronage increased in Istanbul after a relative lull in the late 17th century. However, the new style was also present at the beginning of Ahmed III's reign and continued to be evident after him in the 1730s. The introduction of European influences in Ottoman culture and architecture eventually led to the creation of the Ottoman Baroque style in the 1740s.