Each tile from this panel of four was covered with a purplish-black glaze and subsequently carved in the so-called zilij (intaglio) technique, thus creating both the inscription and the background motifs. Zilij tile work is perhaps the most representative aspect of architectural decoration in North Africa, especially Morocco, from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. The text, repeated several times in this frieze, is cheerful and auspicious: "What excellent companions are happiness and good fortune!"

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