Extraordinary Minas

Minas Avramidis (1877–1954) was one of the extraordinary tile and ceramic masters of Kütahya, where the tradition of tile production had flourished since the Beylik period. Skilled in all aspects of traditional tile craftsmanship, Minas’s imagination, creativity, and curiosity led to his unique creations. 

One of the most striking examples of Minas’s creative world is his series of plates from the 1910s depicting the Genovefa Story. In this series, Minas drew inspiration from the narrative centered on themes such as faith and loyalty. He likely read the story in a late 19th-century Karamanlidika serial publication and saw it in a lithograph produced by Sotiris Christidis, which was widely circulated in Greek Orthodox neighbourhood coffeehouses. Drawing on the colors, motifs, and forms of Kütahya’s rich tile-making tradition, Minas skillfully blended tradition and innovation through his distinctive style, imparting a unique character to Kütahya’s tiles and ceramics. 

The exhibition Extraordinary Minas, presenting objects from Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection, examines the efforts of Kütahya masters in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries to revive the disappearing craftsmanship of tile-making by focusing on a master and a group of his work. The exhibition explores the concepts of the master-apprentice relationship, tradition and innovation, and mass production versus craft through Minas Avramidis of Kütahya and his ceramic plate series illustrating the Genovefa Story. It challenges the conventional imagery of Kütahya tiles and ceramics while shedding light on the stories of masters who dispersed to Kütahya, Athens, Thessaloniki, and Jerusalem in the second quarter of the 20^th century.  

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