The Dar Jamai Museum (also spelled Dar Jamaï or Dar Jama'i) is a museum in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. It displays a number of artifacts and art objects from the city and other regions in Morocco. It is housed in a late 19th-century palace built by the Jama'i family who also built the

Jamai Palace The Jamai Palace, also known as the Dar Jama'i or the Palais Jamaï (), is a historic late 19th-century mansion in Fes, Morocco, which was subsequently converted to a luxury hotel. It is near Bab Guissa in Fes el-Bali. History The oldest pav ...

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

History

The palace was built in 1882 by Mokhtar ben Arbi el Jama'i, who, along with his brother, served as Grand Vizier under Sultan Moulay Hassan (ruled 1873–1894). His family also built the

. When Moulay Hassan died in 1894, his younger son Moulay Abdelaziz was installed on the throne with the help of

Ba Ahmed Ahmed bin Mūsa (), known as Ba Ahmed (), was ( Grand Wazir) of Morocco and de facto ruler of the kingdom between the 1894 and 1900. He became the country's true regent, after enthroning the son of Hassan I, Abd al-Aziz, as sultan, who was a chil ...

, one of the Jama'i family's rivals. The family thus fell out of favour and saw much of their assests, including the palace, confiscated. The palace was then given to the

Glaoui Thami El Glaoui ( ar, التهامي الكلاوي; 1879–23 January 1956) was the Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912 to 1956. His family name was el Mezouari, from a title given an ancestor by Ismail Ibn Sharif in 1700, while El Glaoui refers to his ...

family. In 1912, upon the advent of French colonial rule over Morocco, it was taken over by the French and turned first into a military hospital, then a military court, and finally, in 1920, into a "Museum of Indigenous Arts" (meaning local Moroccan art objects). In 1913 the municipal services commissioned the construction of a large wall fountain on the outside of the palace, facing Place el-Hedim. It is still present today.

Architecture

The palace covers a relatively large area at the northern edge of el-Hedim Square in the old city. It is designed according to traditional

Moroccan architecture Moroccan architecture refers to the architecture characteristic of Morocco throughout its history and up to modern times. The country's diverse geography and long history, marked by successive waves of settlers through both migration and military ...

, decorated with sculpted and painted wood, carved stucco, and colourful ''

zellij ''Zellij'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various pa ...

'' mosaic tilework. In addition to various rooms on multiple floors, it contains a large courtyard garden ('' riad'') with orange trees and a ''menzeh'' (observation pavilion or platform). The palace also had other facilities including kitchens, a mosque, and a small ''hammam'' (bathhouse). An old upstairs reception room or salon with rich decoration and a wooden cupola ceiling has also been outfitted with traditional upper-class furnishings and is considered one of the highlights of the museum. Outside the palace is a large street fountain (mentioned above), covered in elaborate ''zellij'', which is adjoined to the exterior of wall of the palace and faces Place el-Hedim. The current entrance, next to this fountain, was created recently and replaces the original entrance which was off a nearby street.

Museum collection

The museum holds a variety of artifacts from Meknes and the surrounding region, including

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

, wooden objects,

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

carpets A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester have ...

, and jewellery. Most objects date from the 19th and 20th centuries, but some older objects date from the reign of Moulay Isma'il or earlier. Among the latter are the wooden '' minbar'' and '' maqsura'' of the

Lalla Aouda Mosque The Lalla Aouda Mosque or Mosque of Lalla 'Awda (; ) is a large historic mosque in Meknes, Morocco. It was originally the mosque of the Marinid kasbah (citadel) of the city, built in 1276, but was subsequently remodeled into the royal mosque of t ...

, dating from the late 17th century when Moulay Isma'il built the mosque.

Gallery

File:Meknes (4738106090).jpg, Large street fountain on the exterior wall of the palace, facing Place el-Hedim File:Dar jamai DSCF5655.jpg, View of the fountain and trees in the courtyard garden of the palace File:Dar jamai DSCF5663.jpg, A fountain and menzeh (observation pavilion) in the courtyard garden of the palace File:Dar jamai DSCF5529.jpg, Doorways and rooms of the palace File:Dar jamai DSCF5732.jpg, The restored upstairs salon File:Dar jamai DSCF5740.jpg, The wooden cupola above the restored upstairs salon File:Lalla aouda minbar DSCF5522.jpg, The late 17th-century '' minbar'' of the

, on display at the museum

References

{{Morocco-struct-stub 19th-century establishments in Africa Buildings and structures in Meknes Palaces in Morocco Museums in Morocco