Meaning
Mosaic technique in which separately cut pieces of wood or glazed tile are fitted together to form a design, as opposed to painting it on one surface.
Spelling and pronunciation
- Persian: معرق
- Transliteration: moʿarraq
- English usage: Moarraq (cut-piece inlay)
Spellings vary between dealers, museums and regions. Usage notes are under review.
Used in these crafts
Haft-rang tilework
Square polychrome tiles painted with several overglaze colours and fired together, allowing large architectural schemes to be produced faster than cut tile mosaic.
Khatamkari
A Persian inlay art in which fine rods of wood, bone and metal are bundled into star units, sliced into thin sheets and applied to a wooden surface to form dense geometric tessellation.