White Macael marble mortars

White marble from Macael

Marble from Macael, in the province of Almería, has been worked for more than 4,000 years: the oldest known objects date from around 2700 to 2000 BC. The Romans used it in the monuments of Mérida in the 1st century BC. In the 14th century it appears in the Alhambra in Granada, in the Court of the Lions and the Hall of the Two Sisters.

Source: Navarro et al., Boletín Geológico y Minero, 2017

Muro mortars

The marble mortar has always had its place in the kitchen, and once in the apothecary's shop. Ours come straight from the workshop of Andrés Muro (Artesanía Muro) in Macael.

Carved by hand with point and chisel, it was no longer profitable and had almost disappeared. Since 1970, Andrés Muro has designed his own machines and tools to make it again, with his own dimensions and style: a Muro mortar is recognisable at first glance.

Beware of copies

Some websites use Andrés Muro's photos to sell imitations. We buy our mortars directly in Macael, and we are currently the only ones importing them into Switzerland.