500 years ago, however one of the first dated examples of Ebru illustrations was found on the bindings of a book. Despite the artwork being thousands of years old, the quality of the Ebru artwork remains the same. The origin of marbling art is not known exactly. Marble paper was usually used inside the bindings of hand written books and as cornice or as a light background decoration in calligraphy albums and writings yet, it is not possible to find the exact dates that these art works are made. The oldest recorded Ebru is dated 1544 is a writing of verse on light marbled paper.

It is believed that the initial origins of Ebru travelled from other countries in western Asia before reaching Turkey. However Turkish ebru have always had more reputation and recognition. In western countries larger decorations were made on marble papers because some methods were not exactly known by the artists, so for the collectors Turkish marbling was more preferential.

This is why Ebru art (alongside its decorations on the paper that look like marble vessels), is known as “Turkish marble paper” in most of western countries, Creations from Turkish marbling artists are often found on display in museums across Europe.