Çeşm-i Bülbül

Çeşm-i Bülbül or Çeşmibülbül (Persian: چشم بلبل, romanized: Cheshm-i Bulbul, lit. 'Eye of the Nightingale')^[1] is a decorative glass art form developed in the late 18th–early 19th century Ottoman Empire. Its name refers to the intricate spiral or eye-shaped patterns in the glass which were likened to a nightingale’s eye. According to tradition, the technique was pioneered under Sultan Selim III (fl. 1789 – c. 1807) sent the Mevlevi dervish glassmaker Mehmed Dede to Venice to study the latest Venetian glass techniques. After learning Venetian methods, including vetro a fili filigree and opalescent glass techniques, Mehmed Dede returned to Istanbul and set up a workshop in Beykoz. There he fused Venetian filigree methods with Ottoman tastes, and introduced a new style of hand-blown glass known locally as Beykoz işi. These blown glass wares, with their twisted multicolored cane patterns, soon became prized in elite circles^[2][3][4][5] The Ottoman marshal, ambassador and industrialist Fethi Ahmet Pasna is credited with popularizing the production of Çeşmibülbül.^[3]

Çeşm-i Bülbül is a twisted cane filigree technique. Artisans begin with thin solid-color glass rods, typically alternating white (opal) and cobalt-blue, wrapped around a gather of clear or pale glass. The bundle of canes is heated until the rods fuse to the surface of the molten clear glass. The glassblower then encases the canes in another layer of clear glass and blows or pulls the mass, twisting it on the blowpipe. The parallel canes spiral around the vessel, producing highly ornamental vases, bowls, and cups with the hallmark helical or net-like filigree pattern. When held to light or rotated, the fused rods create concentric rings and striations that resemble a nightingale’s eye.^[5][6] These objects became prized both in Ottoman palaces and later among collectors worldwide. Today, authentic Çeşm-i Bülbül pieces can be found in museums (including the Topkapı Palace collections in Istanbul) and continue to be produced in Turkish glass workshops, particularly on the island of Beykoz, which was historically the center of Ottoman glassmaking.^[7][8]

A Çeşm-i Bülbül glass bottle is a key plot element in the 2022 fantasy film Three Thousand Years of Longing, directed by George Miller. The film, which stars Tilda Swinton as a narratologist and Idris Elba as a Djinn, is based on the A.S. Byatt short story "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye". In the story, the protagonist purchases the bottle in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, inadvertently releasing the Djinn who has been trapped inside the Çeşm-i Bülbül glass bottle.^[9][10]

• Carboni, Stefano (2001). "Glass in the Age of the Empires". In Carboni, Stefano; Whitehouse, David; Brill, Robert H.; Gudenrath, William (eds.). Glass of the Sultans. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-986-4. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
• Küçükerman, Önder (1985). Art of glass and traditional Turkish glassware (in Turkish). Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.