The Art & Cultural Heritage of Moroccan Ceramics

Why eat your dinner off a plain old white plate when you can feast from a Moroccan Ceramic platter? A labor of love, when your ceramic plates & bowls can also be beautifully decorated and handcrafted by specialized ceramic artists and artisans from Morocco. 

Moroccan ceramics are known for their vivid hand-painted designs. If you’re an ardent handicraft pilgrim like myself, you’ll fervently wander the medinas of Morocco and they will quickly become your mecca of all ornate and hand-crafted ceramic tableware. 

The country of Morocco is filled with hidden treasures, and is famous for its pottery,  that is one of the greatest specialties of the kingdom.  It is a central part of the Moroccan Home Décor!

Wandering the pottery shops in the souks can be mesmerizing; with a myriad of Moroccan bowls and Moroccan ceramic dishes in colorful, blues, reds, golds and Terracotta; each color is symbolic of a different city in Morocco.

Three Moroccan cities of Fez, Meknes and, especially, Safi, are the main pottery centers of the country. The first Fassi (from Fez) pottery for example, was first incorporated and can be easily recognized by its cobalt blue and white designs. Aside from ceramic tableware, most of the green tiles that are seen in many buildings, mosques and famous monuments throughout Morocco, come from Safi, considered today the capital of Moroccan pottery. 

Taking a tour of the Pottery Village in Fez, where the pieces are cooked for hours at very high temperatures to later let them cool and cover with a white tin-glaze. On that glaze, the artisans draw blue geometric patterns. At the end, the piece is re-baked and tin finishing is applied before it’s hand painted; a distinctive feature of Fassi design. 

 

The intricate hand-painted ceramics of Morocco usually reveal designs that have been influenced by Islamic Culture. The floral and geometric Moroccan designs are available in cobalt blue and multi colours. This highly decorative ceramic style for instance was greatly influenced by the Moorish and Spanish culture.  

Deep salad bowls, cake stands, plates, vases, tea sets, and cooking wares like Ceramic tagines are specialties of regional ceramicists. Together they suggest the rich heritage of Islamic art, Moorish-Spanish influences, and Berber utilitarian simplicity of beautiful and bewildering Moroccan ceramic artisanry!