In Pictures

The enduring art of Palestinian tiles

Despite economic challenges, four generations of the Aslan family have honed the craft in their Nablus workshop.

Luay and Omar, the youngest tile-makers at Aslan Tiles, work across from one another, sharing a stencil and tile press. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

13 Feb 2016

Nablus, occupied West Bank – Aslan Tiles, located in downtown Nablus, is the last remaining producer of traditional Palestinian tiles in the West Bank. Since the 1930s, four generations of the Aslan family have honed the craft, and recently they have resisted lucrative offers to move the operation to Israel.

Palestinian flagstone tiles reached the height of their domestic popularity in the 1930s, when many urban homes throughout Palestine decorated their floors and walls with intricate floral and geometric patterns.

With the rise of inexpensive, mass-produced tiles in the 1980s and 1990s, the demand for local tiles waned, and local tile producers around the West Bank disappeared. In the past decade, however, Anan Aslan has seen a renewed interest in their bespoke product, which is handmade by a staff of seven on the company’s small, three-building premises.

“In the last 10 years, there has been a growing appreciation of this product because people now feel like it is a tradition, a heritage, something that reminds them of their past and their roots,” Aslan said. “It used to be a necessity and people liked its durability, but now it is seen as more of a luxury. People want to enjoy this art.”

Nearly every surface of every building in the Aslan workshop advertises the company’s handiwork. The result is a kaleidoscope of colour on every wall and floor. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

The stencil that Luay and Omar share sits between them. Over the course of a day, each will produce between 120 and 150 tiles. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

After cleaning the copper base of the mould with oil, Then begins the tile-making process by pouring a light blue pigment into segments of his stencil. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Once the stencil has been filled, it is carefully lifted out of the mold, leaving a delicate, watery impression of the tile design. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Thaer sifts a finely-ground cement over the design, followed by a denser, chunkier cement that makes up the tile base. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Nearly everything in the workshop is covered in a layer of cement dust, and the tools are caked with years of pigment – a contrast to the delicate finished products, which are lined up face-to-face behind the workstation. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

A vast wall of stencils decorates the workshop’s office, some dating back to the 1930s. There are about 750 designs that can be mixed and matched. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Anan Aslan recently took over management of the company from his father, Jalal. Anan is the fourth generation of Aslans to run the business, but more than 100 family members retain shares in it. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Abu Walid, Aslan Tiles' oldest member of staff, has been making tiles for the family since 1947. He does so with precision, dusting off and closely inspecting each finished tile. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Different coloured pigments, imported from Germany, line the workshop table. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Tiles are not the only thing produced on the Aslan premises: A fully working chicken coop can be found in one of the workshop buildings. Its inhabitants patrol the yard, weaving in and out of the many piles of tiles. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]

Aslan Tiles exports 70 percent of its products to Israel, to both Jewish and Arab Israelis. Anan has an Israeli contact who imports the tiles, often in white, unmarked boxes. These are then forwarded to sellers who add their own label. Here, a box bound for Israel is stamped with a Hebrew logo. [Mary Pelletier/Al Jazeera]