From patterned silks and porcelains to printed cottons and earthenwares, art and commodities flowed through Ottoman Constantinople, eddying around artisans, shop-keepers, residents and visitors. Guilds of spoon-makers and workers in mother-of-pearl, textile merchants from India and Italy, sellers of coffee and ceramics together thronged neighbourhoods up and down the Bosphorus and along the Golden Horn.
This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the art and material culture of the Ottoman Empire, taking as its premise the key role of every day activities. It also argues for new modes of studying all kinds of mass-produced goods destined for popular consumption.
