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Moroccan Tribal rugs:
A
work
of art, but also a journey in time and space to an ancient realm of beauty
and mystical charm. A captivating feast for the senses which used the
natural treasures that last a lifetime
and beyond.
When you buy a Moroccan rug, you not only own a beautiful
floor covering, but also a little bit of history.
For thousands of years,
Berber tribes living in the Middle or High Atlas Mountains around the plains of
Marrakech are the three principal regions of Moroccan rugs production. Moroccan
Berber women have woven rugs, blankets and fabric wall-coverings, made for domestic
purposes.
These woven textile treasures represent centuries of
the most exquisite artistry and meticulous Moroccan craftsmanship.
Moroccan
Berber
tribes continue to preserve the techniques of their ancestors handed down
from mother to daughter, they are also an important part of the bride’s
trousseau.
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Zaiane
textiles ,these delicate weavings are woven by
young Moroccan Berber women in preparation for their weddings. This shawl is wrapped
around them as they are sent on horseback to the groom's house.
The Zemmour tribes, known for their beautifully detailed weavings, are
settled in the area South of Meknes and they are one of the largest
producers of textiles of the
Middle Atlas
Berbers.
As these tribes live in a warmer climate than other tribes, their
textiles are more like blankets than rugs.
Because of the tribes' relative
isolation in rural, mountainous areas, these textiles have preserved
the ancient techniques and protective symbolism of their distant
ancestors, handed down from mother to daughter. The designs not only
heal and protect, but also tell the history of the tribe or the
story of the weaver's life.
In the
high Atlas Mountain region, It is also a way to express their daily preoccupations
and superstitions.
Rural Moroccan rugs are identified by region, then by tribe, identifiable
by weaving technique, design, and colors
,their
most vivid characteristic is their vibrant colors combined with stylized
motifs inspired by ancient symbols or good imaginations.
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Today’s Moroccan women weavers continue to use these
ancient methods expertly. Extraordinary
knotting and embroidery with saffron-hued wool enlivened by a predominance
of orange, they
still make an orange from henna, an indigo blue, a madder red, and a
natural green is characteristic of the Glaoua rugs and Taznakht. Other
natural dyes include reddish-purple from madder root, dried figs and
pomegranate for black, tea for brown and sepia, the yellow comes from a
locally-available plant whereas the black wool is un-dyed as it comes from
black-haired goats indigenous to the region.
The weaver then begins a painstaking job that will take months if not years,
to complete. Using their design as a complete reference, the weaver builds
the rug from thousands, often times millions of individually tied knots made
with the help of a loom.
Hand-woven Moroccan pile carpets from the
Taznaght tribe
of the High Atlas mountains
in the South of Morocco are characterized by rich warm colors. Their weaving
has been famous for the quality of the wool used and for their striking
colors recognizable from its high sheen and its softness (produced by
natural dyes).
These tribal rugs show very high quality
weaving and designs techniques. Since 1940, Taznaght has been one of the most
productive and successful rug-making centers in the region of the southern
slopes of the Atlas mountains
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Moroccan
Benin Ouarain tribal rugs are woven
exclusively with an ivory background with abstract geometric motifs
of high quality un-dyed natural wool. Although Morocco’s
color-saturated decoration and dress have long inspired artists such
as Matisse, the rugs from the northeastern, altitudinous colder
climate present a more subtle tradition. Woven from un-dyed, natural
wool, the field is cream and the decoration is picked out in
delicate lines of brown. The seventeen
tribes of the Beni Ouarain Confederation of the far northwestern
part of the Middle-Atlas Mountains have long produced these wonderful white
and black rugs. These very thick soft wool piled rugs were produce
as sleeping mats and covers. The thick pile and flexible foundations
were perfect protection against the cold climate of the Middle Atlas
mountains. These fun and imaginative rug were woven for the weaver’s
family, so she was free to create any composition she wanted.
The deep pile from the sheep of the sunny
mountainside The
abstract designs together with its strong ethnic-minimal feel are the
perfect rug for contemporary interior design. |
Henri
Matisse and many other artists, designer and architect
of the 1930s and 40s, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Eames , Aalvar Aalto, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann
were among the architects and designers who
integrated the Moroccan tribal rugs in their design for a house to offset
the very modern material such as plastic and steel
they
used for buildings and furniture. Nothing's changed.
these soft, natural rugs as a foil for their austere interiors. Contemporary designers are now responding with the same enthusiasm
as their predecessors, seeking these tribal Moroccan rugs with renewed fervor.
Neo-Modernists and more frankly contemporary masters find their light color,
softness, sheen and loose weave are ideal for today’s barefoot life style.
.:
About Moroccan
Decor
.: About
Moroccan tribal
rugs.
.: About
Moroccan
caftans.
.: Find out how to
wire our
Moroccan
chandeliers.
.: How to care for
your Moroccan handicrafts.
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