Yasmeen Tizani, M.Arch.
Asalamu Alykum, I am Yasmeen Tizani and I went to Lebanon this summer!
I am an arab architecture student, I’m completing my masters in architecture at USC and my thesis will be related to what I did in Lebanon this summer.
This summer I traveled to Bierut, Lebanon to study Shammi Architecture, or at least an aspect of it. Sham or Balad Al-Sham refers to an area in SouthWest Asia that share customs and traditions, the area is basically Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan.
I am half Lebanese, half Syrian, architecture in Sham has always fascinated me and I always wanted to have the opportunity to learn more about how it’s made. I studied ornamentation techniques in my travels which I have never had the chance to before, especially from authentic, seasoned craftsmen.
I put on my white hijab (it’s an inside joke that syrians always wear white hijabs), and I made my way to my to a Syrian Artisan shop in beirut, it’s a sister shop to their main facilities in Damascus, Syria.
To clarify, even though I said I’d be studying Shammi Architecture, at this shop I would study specifically syrian, even more specific then that, damascus artisanry.
I came to know there’s three different branches of ornamentation that is practiced: Ajami, Mosaic, and Pearl.
My first week I spent on learning about Ajami work or Al-Ajami. One of the craftsmen gave me a full breakdown of the history of how these kinds of ornamentation came about and their importance to in Syrian and Damascus art and architecture. When Islam spread to the region, to avoid illustrations and protraits of people, geometry and nature became the focus of art and architecture. Ajami work is an ornamentation technique that pays omage to nature. Different regions in Sham differ in colors and styles used. Increasingly in today’s market, untraditional colors are requested, and is breathing a second life into this kind of work.
So in my first week, I spent learning and trying my hand at the ornamentation called Ajami.
All three oranamentation techniques are applied on wood. Ajami looks like it would have came out of a mold the way the patterns repeat, but it’s all done by hand. They paint the bumps and rises of the patterns with a plaster like material/consistency. So first, they taught me how to make this substance.
To make Al Ajami, they melt down fish gelatine and water which is then added to a powder that’s mixed with water. They mix the powder and water by hand to feel out any clumps to dissolve. When both parts are done they are mixed to make al ajami which they then use to paint the patterns.
Before I start to try my hand at this ornamentation technique, in traditional arabic hospitality they made sure I always had a cup of black tea to sip, (which I then would pour suger in). It made me feel so loved, to be in this workplace as an outsider, being taught this craft which takes years to master. They were curious to why I was there and excited that I, the next generation was still interested in this craftsmenship and teaching people outside of Syria, syrian craftsmenship.
So the process of actually using the ajami, they start out with stenciling the pattern on the wood.
They use graphite to stencil the pattern on the wood, and then paint the pattern swiping the mixture in the correct angles to get the pattern to read in 3D clearly.
This was my first attempt, very messy, it takes time to master so its like muscle memory to produce the ornamentation of Al Ajami.
From right to left, which is how arabic is written, is the process of painting and drawing Al Ajami. 1: Prep Wood by sealing and painting base. 2: Stencil Using Graphite. 3: Using Ajami following stencil to create the ornamentation. 4:Sealing and painting Ajami. 5: Painting on the colors of the pattern, Gold for stem and line work. 6: “Breaking” the artwork using black to outline the shapes.
So that’s a pretty comprehensive look at Ajami work, moving on, the next technique is the work of Pearl in wood!
The next week I looked at Pearl Work, or Sadf. So, there’s three ornamentation techniques, I spent a week with Ajami, this week was with Sadf. And the last one is Mosiec, which I didnt get to try my hands at but I got a walkthrough on my last day of the whole process.
Similar to the Ajami, I made this piece that describes the Pearl process. So in arabic when they refer to this kind of ornamentation they just say Sadf, or Pearl. Linguistically it would translate to the Work of Pearl, or Pearl Work, Or the Work of Pearl in Wood, I’ll just refer to it as Pearl or Sadf or the work of Pearl in Wood. So from right to left, which agin, in english were used to reading things left to right, but in arabic we go right to left. So from right to left we have the stencil on paper lightly glued on the wood to cut the pattern in the wood, to the end result. 1:Stencil. 2: Cut the pattern of the stencil into the wood using wood carving tools and remove the paper. 3: Take a coil of metal and hammer the thread of metal into the wood. 4: Carve out the shapes where you wish Pearl to be placed. 5: Pieces of pearl will be shaved to the correct shape and placed so it’s all flush to the wood.
I am so grateful for all the craftsmen who took the time to teach me and welcomed me into their craft. Their work was breathtaking and to look at, and getting to look at this work up close felt like a once in a lifetime experience, but at the same time ignited my interest in studying this kind of seriously in my career. To be honest, over the course of my undergraduate degree in architecture and working for four years, I started to get disillusioned with my career choice, especially as an arab woman. But visiting these shops and seeing this craft in person made fall in love with the art in architecture all over again. These intricate ornamentation techniques that I’ve outlined the processes of, line the walls, ceiling and floor of Shammi buildings and furniture. Everything from houses to mosques to chairs to coffee cups are ornemented in this style.
The last technique, is Mosiec. Similar to Mosiac, but instead of tiles, it’s wood. And instead of a collage kind process which is what you typically think of, when you think of Mosiac, Mosaic implements a different way of slicing, cutting and glueing wood together to create beautiful wood “mosiac” veneer which are then used as finishes to furniture or building assemblies.
The craftsmen who work with Al Ajami, Sadf, and Mosiec are incredibly talented and the years they’ve put into their craft was evident in the way they walked and held the wood. I wouldn’t trade my time in Lebanon for anything in the world. Even though my travel fellowship came to an end, this is just the beginning for me. I’m not sure where my studies of Syrian Crafstmenship will take me, but I am determined to study it more and put more time into my studies of syrian art and architecture.
