Ebru Paper with Drawing of Beyazit Tower

(Istanbul): Ebristan, 2008. Barutçugil, Hikmet. Original marbled paper art by Turkey's premier paper marbler, Hikmet Barutçugil, with dusky swirls of pale peach, green, blue, and mauve. Signed and dated by the artist. Emerging from the center of the marbling is a small, detailed drawing in brown ink of the entrance archway to Istanbul University and Beyazit Tower. The tower is located on the university's campus and was originally built in 1824 as a fire watch-tower. Birds fly overhead and disappear amidst the soft clouds of a marbled sky. Paper marbling, or Ebru, is one of the oldest arts in Turkey. In addition to being employed in book binding and decoration, it was often used as a background for calligraphy and is considered high art. Ever since its fifteenth-century beginnings, artists in Turkey (and around the world) have experimented with marbling in order to create increasingly complex designs, which are works of art in their own right. Measuring 28 by 20 inches. One corner slightly bumped, else a fine example of this traditional art form.