Tile and ceramic glazes of Iran

Main families

Iranian tilework includes cut-tile mosaic (moarraq), seven-colour painted tiles (haft-rang), lustre and monochrome turquoise glazes.

• Moarraq: each colour a separate cut piece
• Haft-rang: several colours on one tile, fired once
• Lustre: metallic sheen from a second firing
• Monochrome: single glaze colour

Reading a tile

On mosaic, look for joints between pieces. On haft-rang, colours sit side by side on one tile, sometimes separated by thin lines.