Handmade Islamic tiles on request
IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our Islamic Art tiles
The Almaviva studio manufactures custom-designed Islamic tiles with great respect for traditional ceramic techniques.
Over 20 years of activity, we gathered thousands of images of old tiles and panels that can be a source of inspiration for new projects: Iznik tiles, Damascus murals, Isfahan and Tunisian tiles (“Qallaline”)…
Our showroom is in Montparnasse, in the centre of Paris.
Islamic tiles: the oldest glazed tiles
The Islamic world has inherited a millenary ceramic tradition. The oldest traces of the use of bricks and glazed tiles date back to antiquity. The most famous examples are the Pyramid of Saqqara (-2620 BC.) in Egypt, and the Ishtar Gate in Babylon (-580 BC). After a long oblivion, enamel rendered opaque with an oxide of tin is rediscovered by the Persians in the 9th century. This technique is then diffused throughout the Arabic-muslim world, reaching Europe by Spain, then under Moorish domination.
Each region of this large cultural area has developed an art of its own: Ottoman Iznik tiles and Damascus tiles in the Middle East, Safavid and Qajar tiles in Persia, Qallaline tiles in Tunisia, and Kashi gari tiles from Sindh and Multan in the Indian peninsula.
The tiles manufactured in the city of Iznik since the late 15th century are probably the most beautiful examples in the world of architectural ceramic tiles. They started ornating mosques and palaces of Constantinople when the city fell in the hands of the Ottomans Turks.
