Draft:Boujemaâ Lamli

Boudjemaa Al-Amali is an Algerian name associated with the ceramic industry in Morocco, specifically in the city of Safi, which is known for this industry and whose residents gave the name “Ala-Amali” to the pieces of pottery it produces.

Al-Amali was born in one of the Algerian villages of Tizi-Ouzou in 1890. He moved as a child to Algiers, where he joined a ceramics workshop, where he studied under Ernest Soubirous.

After working in the workshop, which he entered as a trainee, and being creative there for 10 years, he entered the Higher School of Fine Arts in Algiers.

From the School of Fine Arts in Algiers to Paris

He was then sent to France to study ceramics at the Sèvres School. Boudjemaa Lamli was the first North African to enter this school factory, which was established in 1740.

According to a research paper on Safi ceramics published in the “Journal of the Center for Research in Applied Economics for Development,” in 1918, Hubert Lyautey, Resident General of Morocco, who was then under a “French protectorate,” wanted to “renew, revitalize, and even revive this local art.” With the aim of transforming this activity from a craft whose products are intended for daily use into a profitable industry. Boudjemaa Al-amli was chosen and assigned to carry out this mission.

Al-Amli arrived in the city to launch a pottery workshop. Two years later, in 1920, and had a license to open the first ceramics school in Morocco.

Settlement in Safi and the first ceramics school

He opened a “workshop school” in which he trained many craftsmen and revolutionized the ceramic industry in Morocco. It was the first school of this kind in Morocco.

After the ceramics that were manufactured in the city were limited to those intended for home use, they developed their practicality by adding the artistic and decorative aspect. He extracted dyes from plants, and dyed ceramics with metals such as silver, gold, copper, and lead.

In addition to teaching and mentoring the craftsmen whom he taught in drawing and turning, Boudjemaa Al-Amli worked on studying Safi ceramics and its history, which he continued to do until his death in 1971.

Awards

Al-Amli participated with his creativity in the field of ceramics in many international exhibitions, where he won many awards and awards in Marseille 1922, Paris 1931, and New York 1949.

Boudjemaa’s practical contribution to the development of ceramics in Safi and his impact on it has not been forgotten by its residents, who gave his name, “ AlAmli,” to his ceramic pieces. In 2021, the National Museum of Ceramics in the city celebrated the centenary of the practical arrival to Morocco, where the exceptional path of this man was reviewed. On this occasion, the National Foundation of Museums in Morocco said that it “is working to enable all Moroccans to explore this exhibition, which will honor and celebrate the centenary of the arrival of the Algerian Boudjemaa Lamli to Morocco, and his establishment of the first ceramics school.”