Thursday, June 16, 2011

MOROCCAN DOORS #4

These are the last of the Moroccan doors - it's OK Barry, I have more doors from the UK and Spain to post in coming weeks/months  :)
These are my favourite bunch - wabi sabi, practical and totally unpretentious.
Our guide in Morocco told us that the Islamic tradition is for humility in public - not to draw attention to oneself - so the homes from the outside are plain and simple but once inside, the decoration of tiles, plaster mouldings, brass and timber details and exotic gardens can be overwhelming. Consequently, the doors don't always reflect the opulance that can be found inside.
Interestingly, black plastic shopping bags are preffered so that the neighbour can't see what you have bought...so different from the Western hedonism and desire to 'show off'.

HUMBLE DOORS:
These first few are in rural areas and appear to be doors to animal shelters.
The doors are low and squat and some are made from mud and straw with tin cans embedded for strength.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Surprisingly, most have newish padlocks on them, so I guess the mysterious spaces behind are well used.







3 comments:

  1. fascinating! ... me thinks that these doors might function better than they look (not that they don't look good) ... but i suspect they are probably sturdier than the ones i have in my condo O_o

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  2. They are definitely not screaming 'opulence'.... but that might be a good thing. They certainly have lots of character and, methinks, some of the patterns and textures will turn up in your work.

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