TheThe Arts of of potterypottery

Moroccan pottery has several artistic particularities depending on the region. The pottery in cities is always enamelled and decorated. Fes, Safi, Salé, Marrakech and Tetouan are the five main hubs of Moroccan ceramics. 4 The Pottery of Fes

It is in Fes where we can find the most cobalt ore that contains nickel. By refining decorated and finely worked ceramics. Each this ore, the blue becomes more accentuated one of About fifty pottery and earthenware and less greyish. The decorated works are maalems employs four or five workers and made from a well elaborated blend. apprentices in what can be referred to as the The blend contains feldspar, sand, Moroccan capital of pottery. chamotte, Agadir Clay, and Nador’s Kaolin When the ceramic is enamelled, the Clay. background is white, the design is

epigraphical; geometric or floral (only The patterns of the Moroccan pottery of blue). It can also incorporate blue or brown Fes remain largely linked to nature (olive patterns, colored with yellow or green. kernel, , marjoram, jasmine) or to architectural heritage (Zellīj, In Fes, there is blue on white checkerboards, column). backgrounds and many styles of pottery coming from neighbouring communities. Plates, bowls, vases are often ornated with Age-old pottery has never contained more vivid colours, dotted patterns traced with than five colours (on a white background, the index finger dipped in tar. brown, green, yellow and blue ). The Zellīj and of faience without The metal oxides come from the ore of the enamel are the specialty of Fes. region. The blue in it is extracted from a

6 The Pottery of Salé

The exceptional malleability of the clay soil of the surroundings built the reputation of Salé’s ceramics. The clay quarries of Oujla, at the entrance of the city, provide the potter artisans with first quality materials. They use three kinds of clay: The Pottery of Safi • soil, containing sand; Situated at the coast of the Atlantic, Safi • Oujla Clay; is known for its blue faience, inherited • A particular blend for the from the potters who came from Fes to enamelled ceramics, made of red settle in the 19th century. and white clays, and the soil of an The pottery of Safi is polychromatic. Its alluvial river collected at a depth of faience is made of an extremely light clay one meter. and vitreous enamel that has metallic The pottery of Salé is characterized by reflections. The artisans use red clay its discreet hues that are put on a white and Kaolin that serves as an engobe. engobe, a water green colour, a pale blue A staminiferous enamel called cobalt or brown with thin lines in forms of (mixture of tin and lead) is used as a Khoulala and tree leaves. cover. The more tin there is, the more the cover is of a pure, silky and opaque The patterns are somehow electrical white. However, if there is little tin, the (Berber and Andalusian). Aq opposed to cover is yellow. The curvy designs that are the pottery of Fes, which are very sleek, neither linear nor floral, offer a classical the outlines of the patterns are engraved . With time, the style evolves in the cavity. and we find among the creations, Persian or Chinese inspirations, of the finest abstractions. The potters’ famous hillside and workshops are a living testimony of this. Everything in the city evokes or refers to ceramics.

Today, the pottery of Safi built an international reputation. Safi produces all kinds of modelled objects as well as old-fashioned tiles that are in great demand in . The Pottery of Tetouan

The northern city is characterised by a polychromatic enamelled design, that is reminiscent of Spanish azuelos, The Hispano-Moorish design that is both made of interlacing and .

Zellij too is made in Tetouan, the faience moulded , enamelled and fired before being assembled, which gives them a characterising highlight.

The Pottery of Marrakech

The Red City is home to two important Moroccan pottery locations, one at Sidi Amra and another at Bab Debbagh.

The ornamental faience got eclipsed since the Almohad era, when it had ornated the Koutoubia and the rule of the Saadis where the artisans of Fes took the lead in decorating the graves of the dynasty, They contain five traditional colours as well as the numerous civil buildings and (white, ochre, blue, green and black). In . the south-east of the city, at the edge of the Nowadays, the enamelled pottery designs Mediterranean in Oued Laou, women make have replaced the existing forms. Marrakech, handmade useful pottery that is barely along with and , is a centre decorated if not at all. It remains prevalent of manufacturing green and glazed tiles, in cities, especially in relation to culinary which cover the roofs of mosques, palaces usages. and some public monuments. The ceramics are used to make food, or Seen from a distance, the shaped roofs look to preserve it. The potters thus have the like gardens. opportunity of expressing themselves on objects like dishes, plates, jars, containers, bowls, pots, vases or bottles. The

The Zellij

The Zellij constitutes an element of the Berber and Hispano-Moorish , it perfectly adapted to the contemporary decoration styles, while preserving an artisanal manufacturing process.

Tiles of baked clay, coated or not with enamel, are cut manually. They then constitute a pattern that abides by certain rules, like in a coherent puzzle: a continuity of lines, the alternation of colours and symmetry games.

Zellij is a multicoloured expression of the Moroccan artisans’ genius, it decorates , pools, columns or the walls of beautiful houses.

This Moroccan expertise is acknowledged internationally, thanks to the genius and craftsmanship of its Moroccan maalems.

Sometimes, the creativity of the artisan leads to technical challenges, because the Zellij size is so thin and meticulous. Thus, some small central rosettes are made up of hundreds of pieces of zellij.

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The Plaster

In Morocco, the master artisans magnify plaster, sculpt it, chisel it, present it so it is a masterpiece. Generally covering the high part of walls, on top of zellij, the gebs is also used for decorating arcades and ceilings.

The Gebs is also used for big architectural surfaces, and can be applied to all sorts of patterns: concentric friezes, geometric interlacing or rosettes.

Of a white colour, it can be colored in the mass, but also enhanced with pigments, illuminations or even gilding. Exclusively for ornamentation, the plaster dries slowly, which gives time to the artisans to sculpt patiently.

Little by little, the smooth surface of the plaster becomes lace. The Gebs sees the daylight thanks to the expert hands of these Moroccan artisans, who are solicited all around the world for the inestimable talent, mastering this age-old .

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