Ebru is the art of marbling. It means losing oneself in a whirlpool of intricate designs achieved by staining or coloring. Once regarded as an accompaniment to ornamentation and calligraphy marbling has today come of age and is seen as an art form on its own right.

Marbling has an ancient tradition in Central Asia although it has not been possible to pinpoint where and when it was first used. Etymologically Ebru derives from ebri, the word for cloud in Ottoman Turkish, which may suggest the streaked and mottled aspect in marbling. Mehmet Efendi (? - 1773), Şeyh Sadık Efendi (? - 1846), Hezarfen Ethem Efendi (1829-1904) and Necmeddin Okyay (1883-1976) are considered the masters of the art of marbling in the Turkish tradition.