Hand-Engraved Moroccan Mugs, Set of 2 Mustard, Safi

The yellow reads flat in a photograph and doesn't in the hand. Run a thumb across the side and the fan opens under your finger as a set of ridges this is menqoch, the pattern cut into the clay before glazing rather than brushed onto it. Then the painting goes over the cuts: red filling the large leaf forms, a black line following the ridges the engraver already put down, two black bands ringing the foot. Two techniques stacked, engraving under painting, which is why the surface changes as the light moves. Eleven centimetres tall, eight across, tapering out from a footed base. The rim is finished in a single red line, brushed in one pass.

What Makes It

• Cut first, painted second the engraving goes into leather-hard clay, the colour goes on after. You can feel the pattern under the glaze.
• Mustard ground with red and black the yellow runs over the whole body and deepens to amber inside; the red fills the leaf forms, the black draws the line work.
• Two mugs, matching but not identical the same motifs are cut and painted separately on each. Set them side by side and the fans land in different places.
• Lead-free and food safe
• Full mug size 11 cm tall, 8 across. Coffee, mint tea, hot chocolate.

The Craft

The mug is thrown from local clay and left to dry to leather-hard firm enough to hold a cut, soft enough to take one. That window is short, and the engraver works fast within it, cutting the fans and leaf forms freehand with a pointed tool. A slip that goes too deep breaks the wall. Painting follows the cuts he made, and the glaze goes over everything, pooling slightly in the grooves so the engraving stays visible even under colour. Two separate hands and two separate skills usually meet in one piece.

Details

• Set contents: Two hand-engraved and hand-painted mugs
• Material: Local clay, glazed
• Dimensions (each): 11 cm high × 8 cm diameter / 4.3 × 3.1 in
• Capacity (each): 300 ml / 10 oz?
• Technique: Wheel-thrown, hand-engraved (menqoch), hand-painted, glazed
• Origin: yes
• Artisan:virefid
• Food safe: yes
• Dishwasher / microwave:no

Care

Hand wash in warm water with a soft sponge. No abrasive pad it dulls the glaze sitting in the engraved lines. Avoid sudden temperature change. Dry the base fully before stacking.

What's Included

• Two hand-engraved ceramic mugs
• Origin Passport card with QR code the maker's name, his workshop, and photographs of the cutting in progress