A while back, we stumbled on richly green ceramic candleholders, bowls, and vases on Etsy, and quickly were mesmerized by the verdant glazes, so deep and varied it seemed as though each piece was a study of the color green. As it turns out, that deep green hue is singular—absolutely unique—to a generations-old tradition and to the place that the pieces are made: Tamegroute, Morocco, in the Draa River Valley, bordering the Sahara Desert.
“Tamegroute pottery is the only Moroccan pottery to produce green enamel inherited from the tradition of Fez,” according to Morocco-based Tamegroute Ceramic. “The raw material consists essentially of clay, which remains a secret of color.”
“Tamegroute is home to seven families of artisans who have been practicing pottery for centuries, passing down techniques and secret alchemy recipes from generation to generation,” The NoPo reports. “The artisans of Tamegroute source all their raw, natural materials from the surrounding areas around the village. Clay is collected from nearby palm groves by digging deep holes in the ground…Palm tree branches are used as fuel for the stone kiln.”
The vibrant green hue is a matter of alchemy. “The signature green glaze, a secret mixture passed on from generation to generation, contains a particular type of rock found in local mines a few hundred kilometers away and undisclosed amounts of manganese, silica, cobalt, copper, and barley flour,” according to The NoPo. Once the mixture has thickened (for about a week), vessels are hand-dipped into it and then fired. “It is this firing process,” the NoPo adds, “that is thought to be key to the multi-shade green color that has yet to be replicated anywhere else in the world.”
Intrigued? Here are just a handful of tamegroute pieces we love.
Five to Buy
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