Traditional metalworking in Turkey involved various techniques using metals like copper, iron, gold and silver. Copper working was especially prominent and involved casting, plating, and pressing to create pots, jewelry and other household items. Metalworking flourished under different empires and styles like Seljuk, Ottoman and Islamic influenced the craft. Specific techniques included telkari (thin gold work), savat (silver work with black filled holes), and knife making was also prominent across Anatolia since prehistoric times using materials like ivory and precious stones for handles.

1. Traditional Arts Using Metal
TURKEY

2. • It is possible to classify traditional arts that use metals as a raw material according
to the kind of metal employed, the purpose of the product, techniques employed
etc.
• It is known that in the Roman and Byzantine periods there were developed metal
processing workshops in Anatolia. Beginning with the Seljuks, Islamic metalwork
began to make progress. The Seljuks contributed to the development of metalwork
in the same way that they did to that of many other branches of art.
• In this period, there were developed metal workshops in the provinces of Konya,
Mardin, Hasankeyf, Diyarbakır, Cizre, Siirt, Harput, Erzincan and Erzurum. It is also
known that metalwork reached its highest level in Anatolia and the Balkans during
the Ottoman period.
• Ottomans metalwork centers are still functioning as centers of copperwork. These
are: Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Siirt, Tokat, Malatya, Elazığ,
Erzurum, Trabzon, Giresun, Ordu, Sivas, Tokat, Kayseri, Çankırı, Çorum, Amasya,
• Kastamonu, Konya, Burdur, Denizli, Afyon, Kütahya, Balıkesir, Bursa, Istanbul and
Edirne.
• In metal crafts, various techniques including castting, telkari, scraping, hammer
work, tapping, küftgani, savatlama, ajur and cutting are used.

3. Iron Working:
• This is used for making doorknockers, kitchen
equipment, harnesses, equipment for
architecture, musical instruments etc.
• In Anatolia, after the Bronze Age when copper
was mixed with tin in order to produce
bronze, metals such as copper, gold and silver
were worked with various techniques such as
casting.

4. Copper Working:
• Research has shown that the history of copper working
is very ancient and that copper mines have long been
operating in Anatolia. Copper, which occupies an
important place in Anatolian art, is also easily
obtained.
• Copper is widely used in daily life for pots, jewellery,
helmets, and doorknockers and to decorate doors.
• Copper is the mostly widely used metal. There are four
techniques employed for making copper pots. These
are: wroughting, casting, plating and pressing.
• Today, copper is widely used for kitchen equipment,
where the metal is plated wit

5. Knife Making:
• The knife, a cutting instrument consisting of a handle and a sharp-
bladed body, has been in use in Anatolia since prehistoric times.
Sadly, however, very information is available about the
development of the knife.
• Knives are named according to their shapes such as; pala, hançer,
gaddane and saldırma. Their handles are plated with ebony, ivory,
siver or gold. The blades of knives made for the palace were
decorated with different precious stones such as diamonds, coral,
rubies and emeralds.
• In the middle of 19th century, knives made by hand gave way to
those made by machine, and knife making improved. Today, we see
table knives made of rustproof steel with stable handles, and
collapsible pocket knives.
• In some regions of Anatolia, knife handles are still decorated with
various techniqu

6. Gold and Silverwork:
Examples of Gold and Silver Work
• Telkari:
• Thin gold is worked in order to create three-dimensional
objects, with various designs on them just before they loses
their heat and while they are still pliable. Telkari is used for
jewellery, cup holderss, boxes and mascara tubes.
• Savat:
• This method is usually employed with silver. Small holes
opened on the surface of the metal are filled with a special
black solution. There are three types of savat; plain,
serrated and carved. Boxes, watches, cup holders and
cigarette holders are made with the technique