Fatima Azzahrae Chaabani
SUPERVISOR: EMMA CLARK
MA: VITA, (2017-1018)
Title: What is Sacred Art? What is Traditional Art? Give your answers with reference to two specific works of art or architecture (one each for sacred and one traditional)
Introduction
The Moroccan Zellij is a sublimely beautiful form of Islamic art, although its roots can be traced in the universal language of two-dimensional mathematics. This form of Islamic art is not unique to Morocco, but the Moroccan master craftsmen have elevated it to its highest form of expression, and have safeguarded and developed that level of expression throughout many centuries to the present time. Keith Critchlow and Paul Marchant state that “It will always remain a mystery how one is able clearly and unequivocally to describe such a pattern art as Islamic while also being able to define it with equal clarity as Moroccan”.[1]
The art of Zellij is essentially a practical art that takes years of training in manual skills. However it does not merely involve dexterous and manual learning, but also demands a remarkable mental discipline that has to be integral with the skill of the handcraft. Subsequently, the art of Zellij integrates some of the most profound mathematical symmetries, exhibited in the permanent vehicle of ceramic glazes, located in the places of prayers (the masjids), the places of learning (the madrasahs or universities), the public places, the homes, the market places and so on. In addition to its aesthetic significance and scientific objectivity, this exquisitely sophisticated and splendid traditional art contains many layers of timeless meaning and value inspired from Tawhid (the Oneness of God) and acknowledging the spiritual partnership between mankind and his maker, between the Creator and the created. “God is beautiful and loves Beauty”, affirms the traditional saying of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.
In this essay, I don’t presume that I will cover all the levels of visual and spiritual splendor that the Moroccan Zellij embodies, from its mathematical and aesthetical aspects, to its profoundly monotheistic essence. However, it’s a basic endeavor to investigate the origins, the symbolism, and the particularity of Moroccan Zellij, with a specific focus on its substantial character as a perpetual reminder of the Divine. I will look at its spiritual nature in its dual forms of embodiment: the sacred and the traditional through two examples: Al Karawiyyine Mosque and Dar Seffarine.
- A Historical Overview
The ceramics industry in Morocco flourished from the Middle Ages onwards. According to Catherine Cambazard Amahan, a historian of Islamic arts specialist in architectural heritage and Western Maghreb (Fez in Particular), texts earlier than the thirteenth century extol the beauty of the buildings, but give scarcely any information about the materials used for their decoration. Hence, the assumption that ornamental ceramics were already in existence in the eleventh century would be foolhardy. Unglazed terracotta was used for decoration in monumental art in the Murabiti (Almoravids) period (eleventh and twelfth century), and a survey carried out in the reign of the Khalifah Al Muwahhidi Muhammad Al Nasir (AD 1199-1213) recorded as many as 180 or 188 ceramic workshops outside the city walls of Fas, producing articles of furniture and architectural components. The second half of the twelfth century, which marks the beginning of the Marinid period, and especially in the fourteenth century, was featured by the perfection of polychrome ceramic mosaic. Clay tiles, squared off in a mould and then cut out, underwent an initial firing. Glazed and fired, they were then called zillij. This ceramic mosaic was made by placing small pieces of cut and chamfered tiles in a nortar of plaster and lime to form various shapes in the monochrome tile. [2]
These skillfully made glazed ceramics tiles were used both inside and outside buildings in decorative geometric, epigraphic and floral schemes. Additional colors were added to the earlier range of colors, such as the brown of manganese, the yellow of brown haematite and the green of copper oxide. The glazes, always of excellent quality, are of rich shades, such as the very luminous blue-greys produced by a local ore, and stand out against the bluish-white or pinkish white background, which contains tin oxide.[3]
Fez, the capital of the Marinid dynasty, naturally took advantage of the possibilities offered by these ornamental techniques in its civil, religious and military architecture. Equal care and perfection was given to Zellijand cut ceramics decoration whether it was a matter of creating an official, regal command like the madrasah or colleges, which were the glory of Marinid art, or of creating an individual initiative, such as a private house or a fountain.
As well as concealing the marks of construction, the Zillij indicate a new aesthetic quality, a concept of ornamentation linked to the search for the effects produced by colour. The latter is evident in the minarets of Marinid mosques. In addition to religious architecture including minarets, mosque entrances and Zawaya[4], ceramic was used externally in military and funerary architecture. It was also used inside buildings, combined with other decorative materials and techniques such as carved plaster and wood pieces (which have been carved and assembled) to form an attractive ornamentation.
To sum up the problematic question of the origins of Zellij , Catherine Cambazard Amahan recalls Nasrid Granada and discounts the theory of Alhambran influence on the production of Zillij. In fact, the historian argues that the richness and ornamental diversity of wall surfaces of the madrasah and Fassi houses, was contemporaneous to the development of this paneling art is Nasrid Granada. However, those ceramic panels referred to by the name alicatado, mostly produced from the reign of Yusuf 1 (AD 1334-1354) and of Mohamed 5 (second half of the fourteenth century), were produced well after those of the houses and madrasah of Fas. Therefore, “Zillij came first, and that a Fassi art did exist, especially as another material of ornamentation –cedar wood- had already been in use”.[5]
- Particularity of Moroccan Zellij
In my opinion, Moroccan Zellij ows its particularity to a series of marking stones such as its linear design, the Andalus influence, and its continuous development within a creative framework till the present.
As far as the geometrical design of Zellij is concerned, the linear quality as opposed to circular is a distinguishing feature. Unlike the architectural motifs in Persia and Arab Middle East at large, the linear aspect is evident in Moroccan architecture and crafts; for example the minarets are rectangular not circular, the domes are pyramidical as opposed to circular, the embroidery motifs take angular forms and the traditional outfit Djellaba is designed into two symmetrical rectangles with a hood falling in a triangular shape. The precision of the Zellij tiles’ perfect straight lines is to my sense the most accurate expression of this linear theme.
Another feature characterizing Moroccan Zellij is the Andalous influence, Mohamed Benaissa former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco stress that “the immigration of Muslims and Jews of al Andalous to Morocco significantly contributed to the development and preservation of the crafts. Similarly, the immigration of the Andalusi bourgeoisie and the aristocracy to Fãs, Titwãn, al Ribãt, Salã and other regions of Morocco, carrying with them examples of Andalusi architecture, created a beautiful marriage of old Moroccan Barbar and the Andalusi Islamic Mediterranean (if one may use this term) styles of architectures”[6].In the same vain, Samar Damluji confirms: “Al Andalus was not lamented here, it was reinstated”[7]
Unlike Spain where the development and production of Zellij became extinct, The architectural language of Zellij in Morocco continues to evolve creatively till the present. In fact, “Morocco is the sole country at the tip of the Mediterranean where the heritage of Zellij and Ceramics was not only preserved but has indeed, continued to develop within a creative framework.”[8]A sublime example of the development of the art of Zellij this century include the Great Mosque of King Hassan 2, which encapsulates the essence of the linearism and epitomizes the culmination of Moroccan architectural and decorative history.
A Fountain decorated in Zellij, Hassan 2 Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.
- Symbolism
Scant but significant literature has been written on the different layers of meanings of the Moroccan Zellij in order to analyze the symbolism embodied in the sophistication, symmetry and harmony of patterns, shapes, designs and colours.In this section I will rely on the works of Titus Burckhardt, Keith Krinchlow and Paul Marchant to demystify the sublimities of Moroccan Zellij.
Burckhardt stresses that the rigorously geometrical reticulations and rosettes, which cover the walls of buildings like hoar-frost or like star-worlds, are for the Moorish artist a symbol of the everywhere discernible unity of God[9]. In fact, the Divine Art in Islam, and according to the Koran- God is “artist” (musawwir)- is in the first place the manifestation of the Divine Unity in the beauty and regularity of the cosmos. Unity is reflected in the harmony of the multiple, in order and in equilibrium, and beauty has all these aspects within itself. Art clarifies the world and helps the spirit to detach itself from the disturbing multitude of things so that it may climb again towards the Infinite Unity[10].
Keith Crinchlow and Paul Merchant suggest that Zillij work quite literally echoes to the cadences of the enchanted Qur’an. Work songs sung by manual workers, have a direct connection with the work undertaken, in the same way as the Holy Qur’an has an immediate and direct value for the master zillij worker when he is conceiving, memorizing and imagining his patterns on the walls that have been given to him to adorn.[11]
It is also worth mentioning that individualism, which has come completely to dominate modern art, is quite alien to the history of Zillij. “Certainly we can name the living masters, but to whom should we really acknowledge authorship of patterns that have been repeated for may be twenty eight generations of Zillij masters? For the traditional Moroccan masters, it is quite simple- God is the ultimate author, so why confuse matters by placing one’s ego in between?”[12]
Based on the previous premises, the timeless art of Moroccan Zellij unmistakably conforms to the cosmic rhythm and carries a supra-human metaphysical aesthetic authority. This evidence lies behind the statement of Salma Samar Damluji Professor of Architecture of the Islamic World at American University of Beirut:“I became convinced that, In their architecture and creativity, the Moroccans had come as close as humanly possible to match the firdaws (Paradise) described in the Qur’an. How else could one interpret the use of Zillij to decorate the tomb of Al Sa’diyyin in Marrakush, where death is gracefully symbolized by Zillij slabs which adorn the paved courtyard? Here, death effectively becomes decorated with that perfected beauty of the Moroccan art of life and architecture: Zillij”[13]
- Zellij as a perpetual reminder of the divine:
To this end, I try to distinguish between the sacred and the traditional representations of Moroccan Zellij. And I will use two examples from Fez, Al Karawiyyine Mosque as anarchetype of the sacred, and Dar Seffarine as an archetype of the traditional.
To start with, the word tradition means the transmission of beliefs, rules, customs, and so on, by word to mouth or by practising without writing from one generation to another. True tradition finds its source in the divine and pertains to a religion. Similarly, the sacred is of “an angelic origin because its models reflect supra-formal realities. It recapitulates the creation -the “Divine Art”- in parables, thus demonstrating the symbolical nature of the world, and delivering the human spirit from its attachment to crude and ephermal facts”[14]. Hence, Sacred and traditional arts are both a manifestation of the Divine Unity in the beauty and regularity of the cosmos.
As far as Zellij is concerned, I would consider the use of Zellij in worship places such as mosques, Minarets, Zawaya, Madrasah and tombs a form of sacred art, while its use in private houses, royal palaces, public administrations and fountains is a manifestation of traditional art.
Founded by a Muslim woman, the University of Al Karawiyyine in Fez, Morocco, opened its doors in 859, its library has been restored during the last three years by another woman, Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni.
Walking into it, one is overawed by its architecture and overcome with a desire to submit to the forces who created it. The proportions, colors and space reflect the sober and abstract spirit of Islam, the meaning and power of which is manifested here in the space. Each detail impresses and embodies a serene perfection
The pictures below depict the beauty of Zellij in Al Karawiyyine mosque:
As far as traditional art is concerned, Dar Seffarine is a great manifestation.
It is a 600-year-old house converted now to a hotel in the old medina of Fez, with soaring square columns, 18-foot carved and hand painted cedar doors and colorful Zellij -tiled floors set against blank white walls, a central courtyard, and a roof terrace giving spectacular views.
Dār Seffarine is a splendid example of the Moroccan traditional language of architecture and design. Titus Burckhardt beautifully describes the old houses of Fez stating that: “The Islamic house is not merely a world on its own, it is a universe transformed into a crystal; it is in this way that it is symbolically described in oriental legends: with its four directions, the vault of heaven high above it, and the gushing fountain as its innermost center”[15].
The pictures below feature the beauty of Zellij art in Dār Seffarine:
Conclusion
Moroccan Zellij is an exquisitely beautiful form of sacred art that continues to contribute profoundly to the human welfare. It is only by contemplating the Moroccan sources of such richness and beauty with respect and reverence that one can slowly come to realize its relevance as a perpetual reminder of the Divine in a world in permanent chaos and turmoil, fed with wars and hatred, instead of beauty and spirituality.
Bibliography:
- FEZ: City of Islam, Titus Burckhardt
- Zillij: The art of Moroccan Ceramics, John Hedgecoe and Salma Samar Damluji
- Sacred Art in East and West, Titus Burckhardt
[1]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics p: 207
[2] Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics.p: 137
[3] Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics. p:138
[4]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics.p: 141
[5]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics.p: 147
[6]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics.p: 18
[7] Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics. p: 11
[8]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics.p: 18
[9] FEZ City of Islam p:94
[10]Sacred Art in East and West. p:12
[11]Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics. p:210
[12] Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics. p:210
[13] Zillij: The Art of Moroccan Ceramics. p:11
[14] Sacred Art in East and West. p: 9
[15] FEZ: City of Islam. p: 105