From Arabesque to Zellige: Tiles Around the World

Or – My Tile Obsession

Tiles – those joyful squares of glazed ceramic, stone, glass, and clay – have been a design medium of choice around the world for centuries. From the tranquil blues and whites that typify Holland’s delftware and Portugal’s azulejo to the colorful geometry of Persian tiles and Moroccan zellige, tilework is an integral piece of virtually every regional architectural and aesthetic style. I, sharing this collective cultural appreciation for all-things tiled, delight in their cheery ornamentation of façades, ceilings, and floors wherever I go. In the following post, I’ll share my tile obsession with photographs from my travels in California, Marrakesh, and Barcelona with some detours in between.

Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California

My boyfriend and I first visited this sprawling estate last April, and he’s been ruined for house museums ever since. We have since toured Hudson Valley mansions, Frank Lloyd Wright homes, and Barcelona Moderniste masterpieces, and he’s just not that impressed. Admittedly, the cathedral-like castle on a hill overlooking the California coastline, with its mix of Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival styles and collection of late-medieval European art and furniture, is quite magnificent. Built by pioneering architect Julia Morgan (1919 to 1947) for media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, the main house and its three guest “cottages” offer visitors a glimpse of old Hollywood opulence and views of the Pacific Ocean – on sunny days, at least. And, of course, there are tiles galore.

In other California destinations…

Spanish Colonial influences are apparent throughout much of Californian architecture and design. In Palm Springs, courtyard fountains and stucco tiled roofs punctuate the cool mid-century vibe of the desert resort town. Meanwhile, the Getty Villa outside of Los Angeles, constructed in the ordered fashion of an ancient Roman country manor, flashes sophisticated affluence in its marble tiled floors and colonnaded walkways.

Miscellaneous USA

Far from being the exclusive purview of California, Mediterranean and Moorish influences extend their reach east, from arid Sedona to the pastoral Hudson Valley. The following are but a few examples of lovely tilework beyond the Golden State.

Marrakech, a.k.a. A series of doorways

Gorgeous, vibrant tile. Marrakech is fairly built out of it. Everywhere you look is geometric zellige tilework, forming rosettes of blues, greens, and yellows on ceilings, floors, pools, and fountains. Adding to the ornate splendor are the nearly-as ubiquitous carved wooden doors and Moorish arches decorated with intricate arabesques and Arabic calligraphy tiles.

Mosaic Barcelona

I recently wrote a piece on the Catalan Modernism style in Barcelona but had to sneak in a few more photos here, as the city is teeming with both tilework and mosaics. And for the record, there is a difference. Mosaics differ from tiles in that they typically form a cohesive form or work of art. Tesserae, or small pieces (typically one inch or less) of stone, glass, or other materials, are pieced together to form an image adorning walls, floors, and other surfaces, as well as objects and structures in the manner of some of the Modernisme-style mosaics that we’ll see here.