Glass Works - Stained Glass

Glass works include cutting the glass in different sizes, shaping by using diverse methods and decorating for many purposes. The process of cutting, shaping and decorating is also known as finissage. Istanbul had been the center of glass making during the Ottoman era. Çeşm-i bülbül, Beykoz are some of the techniques that have reached nowadays. Some of the examples of Ottoman era glass art products were burning oil lamps, tulip vases, rosewater bottles, saucers, sugar cups, stained glass boards, pitchers and other objects of use. In Anatolia, glass beads were commonly produced. The first modern glass factory Paşabahçe was opened in 1934.

Stained glass, which is a glass decorating technique, consists of combining colored glasses together in a specific composition. First works of stained glass can be traced back to the 9th and 10th centuries and they improved in parallel with the improvement of the architectural works.

Stain glass works is mainly used in cathedrals and churches in the Christian world whereas in Turkey it has also been used in palaces, mansions, libraries, pavilions and houses. Stained glasses have been used since the Seljuk era with a technique called revzen-i menkuş which is different from the western one. During the Seljuk and the Ottoman eras embroidered windows were placed in the buildings within plasters; and by using the wall thickness they were used as double layers placed on each side of the building.