Translate

Thursday 8 May 2014

Moroccan decorative plaster work-Platre ciselé marocain

The art of gebs, sculpted plaster work, has always been and still is very popular in Morocco. Traditionally it was used on the walls of houses, palaces and Koranic schools but we are seeing more and more of it in modern decors.
L'art du gebs, le plâtre ciselé, est très répandu au Maroc. Traditionnellement, il ornait les murs et plafonds des riads, des palais et des madersas mais il sert de plus en plus à décorer des maisons contemporaines.


The art of gebs consists in carving fresh plaster in precise, often geometric, patterns. It is intricate work and requires years of experience. The gebs carver starts by drawing or stencilling a design on freshly dried plaster then removes the excess plaster with fine tools to reveal the design. Moroccan plaster is a particular blend that dries very slowly giving the carver time to carry out his delicate task.
Le travail consiste à ciseler du plâtre frais selon un dessin précis. C'est un travail minutieux qui requiert des années d'expérience. L'ouvrier commence par tracer le motif sur le plâtre à peine sec, puis enlève le plâtre à l'aide de ciseaux fins afin de révéler le motif. Le plâtre marocain est un mélange particulier qui durcit lentement ce qui permet ce patient travail de sculpture.






A modern use of gebs is these round lamps at Riad Awa in Marrakech.
Utilisation moderne de la technique du gebs pour des plafonniers au Riad Awa à Marrakesh.




Delicate traditional gebs enhanced with grey paint at the hotel El Minzah in Tangier...
Gebs traditionnel rehaussé de gris à l'hotel El Minzah à Tanger...


…and in colour in an old palace in the medina in Marrakech.
…et rehaussé de couleurs dans un palais de la médina de Marrakesh.


Images: Joelle Desparmet and La maison des artisans (http://lamaisondesartisans.over-blog.com)

3 comments:

  1. This is just the information I am finding everywhere. Thanks for your blog, I just subscribe your blog. This is a nice blog..
    Lampes de Bureau

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was surfing net and fortunately came across this site and found very interesting stuff here. Its really fun to read. I enjoyed a lot. Thanks for sharing this wonderful information.
    Plafonniers

    ReplyDelete