Jewellery: 

 

Gold
By itself or combined with emeralds, pearls and Turquoise, gold composes more fragile and refined jewels: Rings, necklaces, pendants and diadems. Gold is worked in these cities: Fes, Essaouira and Tangier. If women crave for jewels, so do their husbands, who value the sumptuous gold and silver daggers inlaid with precious stones.

 

Silver

It is worked in the villages of the plateaux and in the mountains. It is a precious metal valued in the rural areas while gold is very sought after in cities. Silver by itself or combined with coral and amber, makes heavy and stern jewellery such as Fibulae chains, necklaces, forehead diadems, bracelets and anklets. The southern mountains, the Anti- Atlas and the Bani represent the stock house of Berber jewellery. The silver jewels worn by the nomads are sold in the markets of the south: Goulimine-Tiznit- Risani and Tan-Tan.

Copperies
Moroccan carpenters and craftsmen work mainly cedar wood. Essaouira: specializes in inlaid-work: small boxes (jewel cases, etc...) pedestal tables, chess-boards made of thuya embellished with ebony, lemon-tree wood and cedar. Fes and Tetouan specialize in painted boxes and cradles. Fes and Meknes specialize in mousharabies and lattice work composed of small machine-turned wooden elements of cedar, worked in such a way that once assembled, present sophisticated geometrical shapes.

Ceramics

Clay is turned into jars, vases, plates or plain dishes (tajines). It is generally embellished with touches of tar or illuminated with sophisticated arabesques. The most famous pottery is made in Fes and Safi. Salé specializes in decorative pottery with coloured glazing.

Embroidery

The dark-blue Fes embroideries are the most famous ones. Those of Rabat-Salé, Meknes, Azemmour, and Tetouan are famous as well. This needlework is executed with brightly coloured silk threads and bears the name of the place where it is embroidered. The embroideries are featured on table-cloths, table-sets, (napkins and table-cloths), fancy-works, velvet or gold and silver lamé silk Kaftans.

The stones

The soft stone of Taroudant is used in carving boxes and inventive paper-weights. These objects are chiselled into rough geometrical decorations. Unworked mountain stones such as quartz, amethysts, manganese, crystals etc... are sold along the roadsides of the Grand and Middle Atlas.

Basketwork

Baskets, frails, trays and coloured straw-boxes are hand-made in almost every village. In the Rif (region of Tangier and Tetouan) country-women wear huge hats. Basket-work souks can also be found in cities such as Fes, Marrakesh and Salé.