Souvenir from Kütahya

The brightly-coloured motifs of Iznik pottery have spawned a million high street knock-offs (perhaps you even have a few stashed in your own kitchen cupboards). Not just exceptionally pleasing to the eye; these popular ceramics are also a bridge to a fascinating chapter of history. Namely the period when Greeks occupied the Kütahya province, in the Aegean region of Turkey.

This long-running exhibition at the excellent Benaki Museum of Islamic Art homes in on the series of Greek-commissioned ceramics from late 19th century to early 20th century that were inscribed with the phrase “Souvenir of Kütahya”. With an emphasis on Christian and Muslim workshops, the display aims to shed light on this turbulent era (defined by the Balkan Wars, World War I and the Greco-Turkish War), by discussing the impact of these historical events on the local communities.

The last section of the exhibition is devoted to the legacy of Kütahya ceramics after 1922 through the works of Greek and Armenian potters based in Athens and Jerusalem. Before you leave, be sure to pop upstairs to the museum’s scenic rooftop café to admire the colourful palm tree mural of renown visual artist Navine Khan-Dossos. Overlooking the ancient Keramikos cemetery, it symbolises Greece’s proverbial location on the crossroads between East and West.