mo'araq

File:Kaboud Dome Maragheh 03.JPG in Maragha (1196–1197).{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://archive.org/details/groveencyclopedi0001unse/page/92/mode/2up |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Jonathan M. |volume=1 |location= |pages=92–96 |language=en |chapter=Architecture; V. c. 900–c. 1250; A. Eastern Islamic lands; 2. Iran, c. 1050–c. 1250. |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=Sheila S.}}]]

Fine decorative work with pre-formed (not "cut") monochromous tiles appears quite early with the Seljuk Kharraqan Towers (1067-1093). The evolution of the Mo'araq may have been progressive, as craftsmen increasing used pieces of enameled cut tiles inserted into wall surfaces for decorative purposes.{{sfn|Bloom|2006|p=297}}

The exact origin of pure Mo'araq is uncertain.{{sfn|Bloom|2006|pp=297-298}} One of the candidates for the earliest form of complete inlaid cut-tilework (with no intervening space between the tile fragments) is from the Seljuk era, with the 13th century Gök Medrese (1269-1270) in Tokat, Anatolia under the Sultanate of Rum.{{cite book |title=Turks: a journey of a thousand years, 600-1600 |date=2005 |publisher=Royal Academy of Arts ; Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Harry N. Abrams |location=London : New York |isbn=978-1903973578 |page=110}}{{sfn|Bloom|2006|p=297}} The technique was apparently applied in the Gök Medrese by craftsmen who had emigrated from Iran.{{harvnb|Bloom|2006|p=297}} "The late Michael Meinecke demonstrated that in the thirteenth century some Iranian craftsmen emigrated to central Anatolia, where they also used the complete mosaic technique in such buildings as the Gok Medrese in Tokat."

In Iran itself, the first known example of complete cut-tile mosaics is the Dome of Soltaniyeh (1307-1313) during the Ilkhanid era, where the mosaic appear "in situ".{{harvnb|Bloom|2006|p=297}}: "The first Iranian examples of complete tile mosaic in situ, however, are on the tomb of Oljeitu at Sultaniyya" Some possible fragments of cut-tile mosaic may also have been found in two slightly earlier monuments: the tomb of Ghazan Khan (Ghazan Khan died in 1304) in Tabriz, and the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318).{{harvnb|Bloom|2006|p=297}}: "Wilber suggested that complete tile mosaic was first used in Iran to decorate the tomb of Ghazan Khan (d. 1304) as well as the buildings of the Rab'-i Rashīdī (before 1318), for he found fragments of tile mosaic in the ruins of these buildings outside Tabriz."

The technique matured during 15th century, and was practiced by the Timurids in Samarkand and Herat, as well as the Turkmen polities of the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu in Western and Central Iran. Mo'araq continued to be in use during the Safavid era (16th–17th century), especially in Isfahan under Abbas the Great.

The term Mo'araq can also be used for marquetry, in which small pieces of woods of various nature and shade can be used to achieve a design.{{cite web |title=Iranian handicrafts: Marquetry |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/462876/Iranian-handicrafts-Marquetry |website=Tehran Times |language=en |date=7 July 2021}}

Mo'araq is technically very different from Haft-rang (7-color) tiles,{{cite web |title=Iranian handicrafts: Haft-Rang tiles |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/467229/Iranian-handicrafts-Haft-Rang-tiles |website=Tehran Times |date=20 November 2021}} which started to be used widely in the 17th century. The Haft-Rang technique is simpler and faster, but only uses large square tiles on which colors are painted side-by-side or delineated with black painting, and the whole tile is then fired, which does not permit an optimum firing process for each of the colors. Hence the colours of Haft-Rang are weaker, less intense, less clearly delineated, and the glazes not as strong.{{cite book |last1=Kakhi |first1=Niloofar |title=Nationalism in Architecture of Modern Iran |date=3 April 2024 |publisher=Gingko Library |isbn=978-1-914983-15-3 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oi42EQAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |language=en}}

<--! File:Turkey, Konya - Alaeddin Mosque 03.jpg|Alaeddin Mosque, Konya, 1220 -->

File:Tokat tiles 2.jpg|Seljuk tile mosaic, Gök Medrese, Tokat, 1269-1270

File:Soltaniyeh interiors.jpg|Ilkhanate tile mosaic, Dome of Soltaniyeh (1307-1313)

File:Mihrab (Prayer Niche) dated 755 AH (1354–55 CE) Madrasa Imami, Isfahan (Abu Ishaq, Injuid period). Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg|Mihrab in tile-mosaic, dated 755 AH (1354–55 CE) Madrasa Imami, Isfahan. Injuid.{{cite web |title=Mihrab (Prayer Niche) |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/449537 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art |date=2025}}

File:Samarcanda, Registán 08.jpg|A 15th century Tumurid Mo'araq, Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, 1417-1421

File:Darb-e-imam northern gate, flower pot design, 1453.jpg|Mo'araq, Qara Qoyunlu tilework at Darb-e Imam, 1453

File:Detail of mo'araq inlay technique. Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.jpg|Detail of mo'araq inlay technique. Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, circa 1475-76

File:Blue Mosque gate tilework, Tabriz, 1465.jpg|Mo'araq, Qara Qoyunlu tilework at the Blue Mosque, Tabriz, 1465

• Persian art

• [https://persianarcharchives.org/2022/02/04/persian-tile-arts/ Persian Tile Art: Mosaic vs. 7-Color]

• {{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Jonathan M. |title=Beyond the legacy of Genghis Khan (The transformative medium in Ilkhanid art) |date=2006 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden ; Boston |isbn=978-9004150836 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047418573_021}}

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