Marrakech, city of a thousand faces, was
discovered with patience, not to miss any aspect of its more
hidden secrets. It is above all a country with a rich past, where
traditions are deeply rooted.
Moroccan art can be classified into two categories: urban and
rural. art city is steeped in tradition imported from East or the
Muslim Spain. Eastern influence is especially carpets, fabrics
and embroidery while the Andalusian capital is still perceived in
the arts of ceramics, metal, wood and leather. The Berber or
rural arts have a more "primitive". The objects often
have a utilitarian function: furniture, tools, utensils essential
to daily life and some ornaments for Christmas and the community
crafts in Marrakech is rooted in tradition. Each generation
passes him a new creativity and student at the cultural
industries. Artisans Marrakech is not just a conservative but
enrich cultural heritage and adapt to the needs of contemporary
society.
Indeed, crafts in Marrakech is rich and alive. Similarly,
Handicrafts Morocco are one of the fundamental characteristics of
the Moroccan daily life. So Welcome to a world where material, or
abundant precious awaits the hand of the artisan to be ...
The wood, metal, copper, wool, stone and clay for several
centuries. Adapted to modern life, craft production Marrakesh
alongside traditions, offering a wide variety of products ranging
from art watermark to the most simple utensils.
The Leather:
Marrakech has countless types of leather, mostly from older
traditions. In Fez and Marrakech, entire neighborhoods are
reserved for tanners: Bags, in hand with accessories, babouches,
poufs, clay pots covered with leather belts, saddles.
Metal:
The Marrakesh housewife uses mostly local produce copper. The
metal is also used, candlesticks, appliques, moucharabieh
framework for mirror items are found in Fez, Marrakech and Safi.
Wood:
the use of wood as building material is a widespread tradition
which dates back to the time Idrissides, so around the seventh
century. In fact, we use wood for the construction of mosques,
monuments, houses and buildings. The wood carvers transform into
true masterpieces with rich and original grounds. In addition to
its captivating beauty, wood has a pleasant scent in the room he
composed.
The woodwork is considered a fine art in Marrakech which requires
great care and patience. The woodwork is possible thanks to the
presence of trees such as cedar, pine, beech and olive. Several
trees are present in Morocco particularly in valleys and
mountains.
The cabinet makers and craftsmen working mostly Moroccan cedar
wood. Essaouira a few km from Marrakech, which specializes in
marquetry, small boxes, chest, tables on foot pads, chessboards
are made of cedar wood decorated with ebony wood and lemon. Fez
and Tetuan are specialized in painting on wood called Zouak. Fez
and Meknes are known by their moucharabieh, work of great finesse
where small pieces of wood are turned assembled forming geometric
compositions very sophisticated.
The Carpet:
behind the tapestry dates back to ancient times. Used both as
object of protection against the cold but also as works of art in
its own right, we can consider only two families Marrakesh carpet
stand out: the urban carpet (subject to stamping), or Rabat of
Mediouna, rural and carpets from the Middle Atlas, the High Atlas
and Haouz Marrakesh. the art of carpet has enriched all creations
of artisans from different populations and the many dynasties
that succeeded. Thus, each carpet, even contemporary, is both a
tradition bearer millennium and singular work of creation. .
Each region Moroccan manufactures carpets with specific
characteristics. Varying sizes and colors, the carpet is a
popular tradition in Morocco. Only the best materials are used
and this explains in part the high cost of these works. Knotted
carpets are more popular and come from everywhere. What makes
them all originals and intriguing is the meaning of the reasons
they present.
Ceramics:
clay of very good quality will be worked until the impurities to
form vases, jars, pots, plates and trays. These pots are usually
embellished by hues typical of the region and the geometric or
floral decorations. The most famous cities are: Fez, Safi, Sale
and Marrakech.
Embroidery:
The dark blue embroidery of Fes and Marrakech are the most common,
of Rabat, Salé, Meekness, Azemmour and Tetouan are also
widespread. These works are executed with great skill using
mostly the son of silk of different colors. They are found in
tablecloths, napkins, Kaftan, Moroccan evening dress.
Semi-precious stones:
The Stone of Taroudant, used to manufacture boxes engraved with
geometric motifs. The stones in the rough: amethyst, quartz,
manganese are often placed along the road in the High Atlas
Mountains between Marrakech and Ouarzazate.
basketry:
A 100% manual trades, it offers an extraordinary flexibility to
address unique customer needs. Baskets, vans, trays, boxes, these
items are made by hand in almost all villages. In both the rif
where women wear huge hats than in cities like Fez, Marrakech and
saltwater.
Jewelry:
Again, we must distinguish jewelry jewelry rural dwellers. The
jewels are usually in urban or finely carved motifs, floral for
the most part, slightly increased, enhanced with precious stones
often cabochon (emeralds, diamonds, garnets, rubies very clear so-called
"Fez" and "Marrakesh"), they can achieve
great magnificence. They are used mainly for women. The badge for
them is an essential complement to their place of celebration.
Men, meanwhile, used most often silver jewelry. Jewels rural in
the country, especially in the South, the taste for finery is
very strong, and jewelry have also Berber their sumptuousness.
The most beautiful are silver, others are bronze despite that
they retain great nobility. They are of exceptional purity of
line, with their geometric designs and sometimes floral motifs.
The glass and wax color there are often gems and enamel.
In addition to Marrakesh jewelry, metalwork essentially metalwork
(use of iron for achieving including gates, windows, balconies),
the DAMASCENE (from Syria, overlays in metal or smooth son
twisted copper , Silver and gold), the brassware (parts
emboutées), and the work of alpaca (copper, zinc and nickel,
whose white glow reminiscent of money). The metals used in all
these trades are silver, copper and their derivatives. The silver
jewelry is mainly present in the south, Agadir, Taroudant, Tiznit,
Goulimine, Laayoune, and Essaouira where the metal is in the form
of balls or powder. The brassware and iron are found in cities,
particularly in Fez, where they participate in the architecture
of large buildings: palaces, mosques ... You can also see the
dinandier opens in the souks where they sell trays, decorated
with lanterns and colored glass containers they have various
carvings or Damasquina. The grounds found on the Moroccan jewelry
inspired by various cultural influences that coexist in Morocco
such as East, Africa and Europe.
Textile:
Weaving Marrakesh is emerging in Morocco from 1500 BC. Since JC,
textiles, used by a wide variety of materials, is the flagship of
crafts in Marrakech.
The various forms of crafts ranging from textile weaving simple
barrier that the bodies, objects of the finest décor. The
Moroccan textile tribes are among the most dazzling and most
impressive of the African continent. Variations of rhythmic
patterns, the vibration of colors, the variety of textures and
the power they emit make them unique. The textile city dwellers
have nothing to envy them: the beautiful embroidery of Fez
compete with those of Rabat, Meknes and Sale or Tetouan. It
should be noted that women held for the holidays (caftan) were
works of art created and tailored by hand true artisans of
Marrakech.
Pottery:
Pottery is one of the first crafts Marrakesh. The duality between
the Berber heritage on the one hand and Spanish-Moorish influence
on the other hand, is found in the techniques employed as in the
grounds and decorations that adorn the pieces of clay. In
Marrakesh, this tradition has elevated to an art rarely equaled.
There are three main categories: pottery town, the magnificent
models, mostly made in Fez and Safi Salt and two pottery rural
north and south, both utilities, the first being widely practiced
by women and the second by men. The three main centers of
production of pottery and ceramics in Morocco are represented by
Marrakesh, Fez and Safi Salé.
Artisan Architecture:
The craftsmen of traditional architecture perpetuate traditions
that date back, mostly in Moorish Spain. Rather than succumb to
standardization, the traditional architectural art has kept its
identity. Thus the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, was able to
pay tribute to the talent of thousands of artisans and ensure
recognition of these ancestral techniques. The various art forms
of art-Arab Muslim have their full development in the traditional
Moroccan architecture. Indeed, the architecture allows artists
and craftsmen produce beautiful masterpieces. If models in the
city tend to invade the architecture of the countryside, the
rural world has an artistic expression of its own (houses blue-Chief
Chaouen). the arrangement of zelliges, plaster and wood gives the
town residence, the appearance of exuberant wealth. As against,
they give kasbahs and other farm rural cheerfulness contrasts
with the austerity and simplicity of the materials used.