𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗭𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲
The word "zellige" comes from the Arabic word "zellige" that means "little polished stone". This word is sometimes written zillij or zellij. This ornemantal technique is typical of Maghrebi architecture: how to assembly fragments of glazed terracotta tiles of different colors to create a geometric pattern. Sherds used are sometimes so thin that it is a true ceramic inlay.
The word "zellige" therefore shares the same etymology with the word "azulejo" used in Spain 🇪🇦 and Portugal 🇵🇹 .
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 :
The art of zellij was born in Morocco 🇲🇦 in the tenth century, in white and brown tones, in imitation of Roman mosaics. Although the Romans no longer occupied the region for centuries, they left numerous traces. This art will be continuously enriched by the contributions of the different dynasties that succeeded in Morocco and al-Andalus, that part of Spain then under Moorish domination: the Almoravids from the desert, the Almohads from the High Atlas, and last but not least, in the fourteenth century, the Marinids, originally nomadic Berbers. During these four centuries of exchange, science and arts grow significantly. The architecture and decoration then reach their highest level of sophistication, and zellige invade the inside walls of all the palaces, tombs, fountains, patios, hammams. The colors are diversifying with the use of blue, green and yellow, red being added only in the seventeenth century.
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐭 ?
You can see wonderful examples of zellige in the Alhambra Palace in Granada (14th c.), the Medersa el-Attarine in Fes (14th c.), the Nejjarine fountain in Fes, the Moulay Ismail's tomb in Meknes (1700), the Medersa Ben Youssef in Marrakech (16th c.), and more recently, the Kasbah Telouet (19th c.).
