MANUFACTURE

Zellige traditional making technique is considered an art in itself. The art is transmitted from generation to generation by master craftsmen. The production process is the same for the centuries, although some technology is also used in manufacturing today. At the beginning a proper muddy clay is pre-dried in a square or rectangular forms, adjusted and trimmed to the correct shape, to be dried to finish afterwards. Prepared in this way, tiles are hand glazed and then fired. Special shapes are traditionally cut out from already fired and glazed tiles.

A long training often starts at childhood in order to master exceptional skills. It requires patience, precision and a great experience. Traditionally, special shapes and compositions are put together as a puzzle upside down, strengthen by cement and covered with a mortar or plaster, to be prepared for fixing as a whole sheets. For modern use they can be mesh mounted.

Our Zellige tiles are handcrafted from unrefined white clay and glazed with traditional colored glass. The glaze is often semi-transparent and the tones vary associating the glaze shadings with the colour of the clay. More modern manufacturing process is adapted, where special shapes are cut out of a pre-dried clay and tiles are fired twice (with glazing after first firing) for greater strength.

Current use of zellige tiles for modern projects is even more interesting...