From the decline of the Tetouani zellige to the supremacy of the new tilework
Abstract
The traditional technique of zellige, the geometric ornamental mosaic characteristic of Islamic art, with an important presence in Al-Andalus and North Africa, has been undergoing a continuous process of decline since the end of the 19th century, the contextualisation and analysis of which, in the case of Tetouan, constitute the core of this paper. With the aim of identifying the origins and causes of this decline, the different factors, tangible and intangible, economic, social, ideological, political and urban planning, that may have led to the gradual replacement of this centuries-old technique in favour of what we call the new tilework, produced and exported from Spain to North Africa, playing a fundamental role in the configuration of Tetouan's new Ensanche as well as in its medina, are discussed here. This paper analyses the various reasons that led to this decline, widely documented from the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century, as well as the specific efforts of the administration and citizens to preserve the zellige, this traditional ceramic technique that was finally eclipsed by the introduction of the new tilework, which has now become a sign of identity and a fundamental part of Tetouan's heritage.
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