Zellige

Zellige are the small, hand-cut glazed terracotta tiles that cover walls, fountains and floors throughout Morocco, those geometric mosaics in star and rosette patterns. Each tiny piece is chipped by hand from a larger glazed slab, then assembled face-down to form the pattern. No two tiles are perfectly identical, which is exactly the point: that subtle irregularity catches light differently from machine-made tile. You'll see masterpiece zellige work at La Mamounia, Royal Mansour Marrakech, and pretty much any restored riad worth booking. Outside Morocco, Patricia Urquiola, Studio KO and dozens of New York and Paris restaurants have made zellige a global luxury signature for the past decade.