i. Berber and Andalusian origins

The art of zellige is born in Morocco around the 10th century, in white and brown tones, in imitation of the Roman mosaics left in North Africa. The Berber dynasty of the Zenata lays its foundations in the Fès region.

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Over the dynasties — Almoravids from the desert, Almohads from the High Atlas, and above all the Marinids (1250–1465) — the technique grew richer. In the 14th century, zellige invaded palaces, madrasas, fountains, hammams, patios. The contributions of al-Andalus (Andalusian artisans driven out by the Reconquista) finished fixing its chromatic vocabulary: cobalt blue, emerald green, honey, black.

The word "zellige" and the Portuguese/Spanish azulejo share the same Arabic etymology: az-zillīj, "the small polished stone".

ii. The clay, the menqach, the firing

The process holds in fifteen steps unchanged for centuries. The clay comes exclusively from the quarries of Fès, rich in about seventy minerals that give it its plasticity and its colour after firing.

1. The clay ferments for 24 hours in basins.
2. It rests for a night, then is moulded flat into square tiles.
3. Sun-drying, from one to three days depending on the season.
4. First firing at 950 °C in a wood oven.
5. Glazing with oxide (copper for green, iron for yellow, cobalt for blue).
6. Second firing, which fixes the colour and gives the gloss.
7. Cutting by hand with the menqach, a sharp marteline. A skilled artisan cuts up to a thousand tesserae a day.
8. Assembly face-down, the glazed face against the ground, on a smooth surface. The joints are as fine as possible.
9. Pouring mortar on the back to bind the slab, sealed with iron bars.
10. Installation in place on the wall or the floor.

iii. Maâlems and sacred geometry

Since the representation of living beings is set aside in Islamic sacred art, zellige constituted itself as a purely geometric grammar. The motifs rest on the eight-pointed star, the rosette, the interlace. Everything obeys two systems of Berber-Moroccan layout: the Ḥasba (calculation) and the Qasma (division).

The maâlem — master zellige-maker — carries this knowledge: he draws the motif, calibrates the palette, directs the workshop. Under him, the kassar cuts the tesserae; the fassi lays them. The hierarchy is strict; the apprenticeship begins in childhood.

Each tessera is a unique piece that bears the imprint of the maâlem's hand. It is these "imperfections" that give zellige its depth.

iv. Places to see

• El-Attarine Madrasa, Fès — 14th century (1325), Marinid zellige of absolute reference.
• Bou Inania Madrasa, Fès — 1350-1357, panels of unmatched decorative virtuosity.
• Nejjarine Fountain, Fès — friezes and borders of the school.
• Ben Youssef Madrasa, Marrakech — 16th century, a richer Saadian palette.
• Tomb of Moulay Ismaïl, Meknès — around 1700, sumptuous late zellige.
• Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca — 1993, more than 6,000 maâlems mobilised for its modern zellige.