History of Ebru

Little is known of the earliest artists who produced "ebru" in Turkey, or of the techniques they employed. A Turkish paper marbler by the name of Shebek, who died in 1608, wrote a book on ebru techniques which unfortunately has not survived except referentially in other cultural texts. Two centuries elapsed before the name of another marbler was famous enough to be recorded; this man was a famous preacher, or "hatip", of the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul. It is he who is credited with the invention of the stylized flower marbling named for him: Hatip Ebrusu. In 1773, a fire destroyed the home of Hatip Ebrusu, and he died attempting to rescue his papers from the flames. A number of his marbled papers are preserved in the Suleymaniye Mosque Library in Istanbul. After Hatip Ebrusu, Sadik Efendi, an Ozbek Dervish born in Bukhara, is probably the most significant marbler of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is believed that Sadik learned "ebru" in Bukhara, and he practiced the art until his death in Istanbul in 1846. His second son, Edhem Efendi also practised marbling and is indisputably the most interesting and multi-talented figures in the history of marbling. As well as being a master marbler, Edhem Efendi was also a carpenter, a metal caster, a weaver, printer, scientist, mathematician and mystical leader of the Ozbek Tekkesi (Ozbek School). He is held to be the best Turkish marbler of the last century, and his marblings are unquestionable master-pieces of "ebru".

It is common in Turkey to learn marbling from a master; as an apprentice one familiarizes oneself with every aspect of the art. Necmeddin Okyay served as an apprentice under Edhem Efendi, and went on to be recognized as one of the finest marblers of the twentieth century. He was born in 1883 and lived and worked in Istanbul until his death in 1975. Okyay taught marbling to Mustafa Duzgunman who was born in Istanbul in 1920. Until his death in 1990, Duzgunman made great contributions to the technical and artist development of marbling. He accepted few people as his students, but among those was his close friend Niyazi Sayin, a world famous musician and intellectual. Sayin himself became a master marbler and continues to work in his studio as well as teaching the art to students from all over the world.

All three of those men: Necmeddin Okyay, Mustafa Duzgunman, and Niyazi Sayin hold special significance in the history of marbling; their contributions to the development of marbling have been invaluable.