Moroccan Mastery: Craftsmanship and Heritage

Q. What inspired the creation of the Splendours of the Atlas exhibition?

Dr Mounia Chekhab Abudaya: This official exhibition is part of the Qatar-Morocco 2024 Year of Culture in collaboration with the National Foundation of Museums in Morocco. We contacted them in 2021 to start discussions about the exhibition, but the whole process started in 2022. I was trying to think about how to tell the story of Islamic heritage in Morocco in a contemporary way. Morocco has a unique identity in terms of craftsmanship and how the Islamic heritage has lasted until now. It's one of the few Muslim countries still with vivid craftsmanship in ceramics, leather, carpet, metal, jewellery and woodwork. I wanted to tell the story with historical objects while showing the contemporary part.

In July 2023, I visited Morocco to see the collections, visit all the museums and get inspired by what I could see there, including the historical heritage, monuments and buildings. When I returned, I started thinking about how to build the exhibition. I thought I could build it as a journey as if you were visiting Morocco. That's why there is a very specific path: you start with photography. I wanted visitors to meet the people of Morocco, look at the landscapes and discover their daily life. Then, they delve into the history and craftsmanship, the latter being an ongoing tradition.

Q. Morocco has such a rich and diverse cultural and artistic heritage. Even though this is a large exhibition with nearly 200 works on display, it must have been a challenge to narrow it down to five thematic sections. How did you arrive at the five sections of the exhibition, and what does each convey? How does the exhibition reflect Morocco's rich history?

Abudaya: I had many different themes and a lot of objects, but I wanted to see which ones were truly impressive and told the story uniquely, as well as which ones conveyed a very specific story. For example, when trying to tell the story of Fez and Marrakech as centres of knowledge in the medieval period, I didn’t want to take [just] any kind of object; I wanted real star pieces. I looked at all the publications I had gathered and examined the collections, especially the National Library of Morocco, to find unique manuscripts that could tell those stories. For instance, we have the manuscript of a text written by Ibn Tūmart, the founder of the Almohad Dynasty in the 11th century CE. He established Marrakech as the capital of that dynasty and was a religious man who wrote about Fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] and theology. Through his commentary on the text of Malik ibn Anas, he was instrumental in promoting Malikism as the main religious school (madhhab) across the Moroccan region and North Africa.

This is how I tried to narrow it down -- I wanted special pieces. There’s one aretfact as well that belonged to the actual Qarawiyyin Mosque. In the craftmanship section, we have very special pieces of jewellery and costumes from certain cities, embroidered with gold threads, and so on. The idea was to choose based on quality and unique history rather than having too many objects.

Q. Can you highlight any particular pieces that hold special or personal significance?

Abudaya: In each room, there are very special pieces. For the photography section, I like the story of Mounir Raji. The fact that he was born and raised in the Netherlands, yet feels that his dreamland is his parents’ homeland, touched me deeply. I relate to that experience because I was born and raised in France but feel very close to my parents’ country, Algeria. It’s part of my culture and roots, and no matter where you are born, there’s a sense of nostalgia that relates to more than just past experiences.

For the historical part, I love manuscripts; this is my specialty. We have a whole room dedicated to the Dala’il al-Khayrat production by Muhammad al-Jazuli. I’m so glad we are bringing those pieces up from Morocco, especially since we have only one small copy in MIA’s permanent collection. The ones we’re bringing are exceptional, and I always wanted to see them in real life, so having them at MIA is very exciting. One is copied by Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim al-Qandusi, an amazing calligrapher from the 19th century CE in Fez, known for his beautiful bold letters. You can recognise his work from afar due to his signature style.

The jewellery section was the most challenging part of my research. I had never worked on that topic before, so I had to read many books to understand Amazighi jewellery. It’s difficult for a non-specialist to recognise which pieces are from specific regions or cities. I spent a few months identifying pieces from Qatar Museums' general collection, which were acquired a few years ago, so I had to start the research from scratch. I had to determine whether a piece came from the Middle Atlas, High Atlas or Anti-Atlas regions and then pinpoint which part of those regions it belonged to. However, it was a good challenge because I learned so much, especially the Amazighi terminology, as each piece has its own term in Amazighi, and its own meaning.

Q. The exhibition focuses on craftsmanship, such as ceramics, woodwork, leather, jewellery and more. What makes Moroccan craftsmanship unique and so recognisable around the world?

Abudaya: Until the present day, craftsmanship has continued since the medieval period. If you visit the Chouara Tannery in Fez, it has been in operation since the 12th century CE. There, artisans still dye leather using their feet and hands in large vats, and in the medina, they continue to use traditional tools to pinch and sew the leather. The same goes for carpets; they are still made manually. This makes Morocco very special compared to other countries in the Arab world, as they continue to safeguard their heritage and craftsmanship. I believe this is truly part of their identity, which is why I wanted to showcase all the different aspects, such as woodwork, ceramics, jewellery and more.

Q. What do you think visitors will find most surprising about the exhibition?

Abudaya: People might be surprised to learn that Morocco had a significant impact on Islamic science and theology, more than we often realise. It’s easy to view the Western Islamic world as somewhat marginal. However, if we consider figures like Ibn Khaldun, who was from present-day Tunisia but lived most of his life in Morocco, we see a major historian in Islamic history. When people learn that the Qarawiyyin in Fez is the longest-functioning university in the world, established in the 9th century, they’ll recognise its importance to Islamic history overall. This connection will resonate with people here regarding the Islamic history of Morocco.

They may also be surprised to see some contemporary pieces, especially the last one. When thinking about traditional heritage, many might not expect to encounter a contemporary art piece that showcases the aesthetics behind traditional craftsmanship and how it can be reinterpreted and reused through contemporary work.

Additionally, they might be taken aback by the colours in the exhibition. We’ve designed the space with bold exhibition elements that differ from what we’ve had before. We aimed to use shiny and vibrant colours that represent Morocco in a modern way. So, I believe people will be surprised because we’ve never had anything like this at MIA.

Q. In addition to works from MIA's permanent collection, this exhibition includes loans from several other entities, including Morocco and other QM partners. How do the loaned objects shed new light on MIA's collection? What kind of conversations or dialogues are sparked by bringing all these works together in one place?

Abudaya: From Morocco, we have the National Foundation of Museums, which includes many museums across the country. Our goal was to represent most of these museums in the exhibition. We have objects from the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures in Tangier, the Museum of History and Civilisations, the Oudayas Museum, and the Mohammed VI Museum in Rabat. In Fez, we have pieces from the Dar Batha Museum, the future Museum of Islamic Art, due to open very soon, and from Meknes, the Dar Jama‘i Museum, which focuses on music.

From Marrakech, we feature items from the Museum of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Jemaa el Fnaa Square and the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets at Dar Si Sa‘id. Additionally, we bring pieces from the city of Safi from the National Museum of Ceramics. I don’t think even the Moroccans have ever brought together such a wide array of objects from all these institutions in one place, making this a truly amazing opportunity for them.

The National Library of Morocco also contributed with beautiful manuscripts; their participation was crucial. Without these manuscripts, there would have been a significant gap in the exhibition, as we don’t have much material here, and there aren’t many manuscripts from North Africa in the region. Their contribution filled in the knowledge and scientific aspect of the exhibition.

From Qatar Museums, we have items from the General Collection, including jewellery and photography, featuring Magnum photographs by Bruno Barbey and Harry Gruyaert. The artworks from Lalla Essaydi and Irving Penn are included. While Lalla Essaydi's works were previously displayed, the others have never been shown. The photographs add a human aspect to the exhibition, showcasing faces, daily life, landscapes and cities, reflecting what Morocco is today.

There are a few pieces from Lusail Museum as well, like a stunning jar with metal parts and paintings illustrating how local crafts inspired some artists who lived in Morocco. We have one piece from Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, likely from a 14th-century building in Fez. These architectural pieces are rare because most collections are still in Morocco or within the buildings. This is why we have so few architectural pieces in our collection.

The objects we bring from Morocco complement what we have here exceptionally well. While the Moroccans could have lent us jewellery, I opted for fewer objects since our collection is so rich and hasn’t been displayed before. This resulted in a good balance. The exhibition effectively showcases how the QM collection is in dialogue with the Moroccan collections.

Q. What advice would you give visitors to fully appreciate and engage with the exhibition?

Abudaya: To learn more about the history of that part of the world is important because it’s not so well known in the Middle East and the Gulf. People often think of North Africa as distant, seeing language and traditions as very different. I would really advise others to explore this region more, as they will find more common ground than they expect, even in terms of language, and appreciate the richness of the traditions there, which often aren’t well known. There can be a lot of prejudice towards North Africa, so I see this as a kind of rehabilitation.

Q. The final section of the exhibition includes a contemporary installation. How important was it to include this, to acknowledge that Morocco's artistic heritage is a living, evolving practice and not frozen in time?

Abudaya: Noureddine Amir is a very interesting artist because he doesn’t work alone. He’s a fashion designer who has participated in the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech and the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation in Paris. He studied fashion and is giving new life to craftsmanship by collaborating with artisans. He produced a piece for us, working with many artisans in his workshop, guiding them on how to weave certain elements into the pieces.

For me, this aligns perfectly with what the exhibition, especially the section on craftsmanship, aims to show: contemporary artists are giving great importance to local artisans, providing them a stage to express themselves beyond what they typically create in their shops. They are part of a larger narrative that tells the story of Moroccan craftsmanship from a more aesthetic perspective.

Although not featured in the exhibition, Hassan Hajjaj is another contemporary artist who collaborates with artisans. He contributes to the local economy by employing them in his workshop and focuses on working with locals rather than bringing in people from outside Morocco. This exchange allows locals to understand the importance of their contribution to their culture. That’s why I wanted to include this last section.

Q. Could you please share more about the catalogue and what it includes, in addition to the details of the exhibition itself?

Abudaya: The catalogue was conceived a bit like an album because we couldn’t include all the objects. It would have been really challenging to photograph every piece from Morocco. However, we still feature quite a few pieces, and the great opportunity was to publish all the collections from QM, including MIA. We have around 150 pieces in total.

In addition to the exhibition items, the catalogue includes more of the research I’ve done on the pieces. Each object has individual entries, especially for the historical pieces, jewellery and photography. I think people will get to learn more about the pieces themselves and their history, read the inscriptions and examine the details. They may also gain insights into the history of Morocco and Islamic heritage, which I can’t convey fully in the exhibition itself because it would be too lengthy.