Mo'araq

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Mo'araq, Aq Qoyunlu tilework at the South iwan of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, circa 1475-76

Mo'araq (مُعَرَق, "inlay"), also known as opus sectile ("cut-stone mosaic"),[1] is the Persian term for a mosaic technique. It consists in using small shards of glazed colored tile, chipped and assembled precisely together in order to form a given design. This techniques allows for long-lasting designs with vibrant colors, and is the oldest mosaic technique used in the Middle East. In case of the specific use of ceramics, the term kǎši-ye mo'araq can be used.[2]

Early examples

[edit]
Combination of brickwork and tile decoration on the Gonbad-e Kabud Tomb in Maragha (1196–1197).[3]

Fine decorative work with pre-formed (not "cut") monochromous tiles appears quite early with the Seljuk Kharraqan towers (1067-1093). The evolution of the Mo'araq may have been progressive, as craftsmen increasing used pieces of enameled cut tiles inserted into wall surfaces for decorative purposes.[4]

The exact origin of pure Mo'araq is uncertain.[5] One of the candidates for the earliest form of complete inlaid cut-tilework (with no intervening space between the tile fragments) is from the Seljuk period, with the 13th century Gök Medrese (1269-1270) in Tokat, Anatolia under the Sultanate of Rum.[6][4] The technique was apparently applied in the Gök Medrese by craftsmen who had emigrated from Iran.[7]

In Iran itself, the first known example of complete cut-tile mosaics is the Dome of Soltaniyeh (1307-1313) during the Ilkhanid period, where the mosaic appear "in situ".[8] Some possible fragments of cut-tile mosaic may also have been found in two slightly earlier monuments: the tomb of Ghazan Khan (Ghazan Khan died in 1304) in Tabriz, and the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318).[9]

Maturity

[edit]

The technique matured during 15th century, and was practiced by the Timurids in Samarkand and Herat, as well as the Turkmen polities of the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu in Western and Central Iran. Mo'araq continued to be in use during Safavid period (16th–17th century), especially in Isfahan under Shah Abbas I.

The term Mo'araq can also be used for marquetry, in which small pieces of woods of various nature and shade can be used to achieve a design.[10]

Mo'araq is technically very different from Haft-rang (7-color) tiles,[11] which started to be used widely in the 17th century. The Haft-Rang technique is simpler and faster, but only uses large square tiles on which colors are painted side-by-side or delineated with black painting, and the whole tile is then fired, which does not permit an optimum firing process for each of the colors. Hence the colors of Haft-Rang are weaker, less intense, less clearly delineated, and the glazes not as strong.[12]

See also

[edit]
[edit]

Sources

[edit]
  • Bloom, Jonathan M. (2006). Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan (The transformative medium in Ilkhanid art). Leiden ; Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9004150836.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Hexagonal Tile Ensemble with Sphinx". 2025.
  2. ^ Journal asiatique (in French). Société asiatique. 1988. p. 393.
  3. ^ Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila S., eds. (2009). "Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; A. Eastern Islamic lands; 2. Iran, c. 1050–c. 1250.". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 92–96. ISBN 9780195309911.
  4. ^ a b Bloom 2006, p. 297.
  5. ^ Bloom 2006, pp. 297–298.
  6. ^ Turks: a journey of a thousand years, 600-1600. London : New York: Royal Academy of Arts ; Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Harry N. Abrams. 2005. p. 110. ISBN 978-1903973578.
  7. ^ Bloom 2006, p. 297 "The late Michael Meinecke demonstrated that in the thirteenth century some Iranian craftsmen emigrated to central Anatolia, where they also used the complete mosaic technique in such buildings as the Gok Medrese in Tokat."
  8. ^ Bloom 2006, p. 297: "The first Iranian examples of complete tile mosaic in situ, however, are on the tomb of Oljeitu at Sultaniyya"
  9. ^ Bloom 2006, p. 297: "Wilber suggested that complete tile mosaic was first used in Iran to decorate the tomb of Ghazan Khan (d. 1304) as well as the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318), for he found fragments of tile mosaic in the ruins of these buildings outside Tabriz."
  10. ^ "Iranian handicrafts: Marquetry". Tehran Times. 7 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Iranian handicrafts: Haft-Rang tiles". Tehran Times. 20 November 2021.
  12. ^ Kakhi, Niloofar (3 April 2024). Nationalism in Architecture of Modern Iran. Gingko Library. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-914983-15-3.