The Timeless Art of Moroccan Pottery: Stories in Every Piece

It may seem to most people like just playing with clay, a waste of time, effort, and money, especially in this age of machines where handicrafts are nearing extinction. However, what most don’t know is that every piece of pottery tells a story. Each piece narrates its own tale, a tale that takes you on a journey into the life of its maker.

I won’t trouble you with the detailed history of pottery, as we know it began thousands of years ago when humans took their first steps towards development. It was the first container used for food. With the advent of metals and glass, its role diminished to decorating the homes of décor enthusiasts and serving as containers for flowers and plants.

In Morocco, fortunately, people still appreciate pottery. For instance, it’s used in making cups decorated with tar, a fragrant black substance that makes you crave another drink of water. Let’s not forget the tagine—not just the famous Moroccan dish but the vessel it’s cooked in. It’s true, the dish is named after its container, isn’t that fascinating? You can’t enter a Moroccan home without finding a tagine; it’s considered one of the most important household items in any Moroccan family. There’s also the water jar made of pottery, known in Moroccan dialect as “el-kella.” This uniquely shaped and named container is used to store water. What’s more, it can also cool the water. People, especially in homes in Zagora and Ouarzazate, continue to use it as a heritage from their ancestors, even with the advent of modern refrigerators.