I. Moroccan
Rugs - General Information
Morocco's history, and the story of Moroccan weaving
begins with the Berbers, the indigenous people of North Africa
who had inhabited Morocco for centuries before the first Arab
invasion in the seventh century. Today, the major weaving
groups of the Middle Atlas and High Atlas mountains are Berber
tribes, many of whom still live much as they did centuries
earlier.
While remarkably diverse, Moroccan flatwoven and knotted
pile rugs are almost without exception bold in color and lively
in pattern. Designs are made up of geometric motifs arranged
in seemingly endless variations. Each tribe has its own distinct
repertoire of designs and colors significant to the ceremonial
and day to day life of the group. These same patterns can
be seen in the art forms relating to other areas of tribal
life such as in ceramics, architectural decoration, and tattoos
worn by Berber women. Although a weaver draws from the vocabulary
of designs particular to her tribe, she works at her loom
without a diagram or pattern to guide her. As a result, each
rug is a unique creation, a celebration both of her tribal
identity and her own artistic imagination.
II. Moroccan
Rugs and 20th Century Design
The colors of North Africa have been celebrated for
centuries by well known fine artists from the west - Delacroix,
Matisse, Klee come immediately to mind. Somewhat less widely
known but no less significant is the historic connection between
Moroccan art, and rugs in particular, and 20th century western
design. From Europe and the Bauhaus to 1960's and 70s American
designers like Billy Baldwin, the simple geometric patterns
of Moroccan carpets have long been used to enhance sophisticated
modern furnishings and interiors. Pile carpets from the Middle
Atlas Mountains of Morocco can be found in well known historic
houses such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Charles
and Ray Eames Pacific Palisades house in California. The late
nineteen nineties have brought about a renewed appreciation
for mid-century modernism as well as elements of sixties and
seventies style and color. The brightness and warmth of oranges
and saffron yellows in Morocco's High Atlas rugs or the neutral
beige ground Beni Ouarain rugs, their thick pile sometimes
reminiscent of sixties shag, are still accessible and are
being utilized anew in contemporary interiors. With their
had spun wool and authentic indigenous character, these one-of-a-kind
rugs have an organic quality not found in their factory made
counterparts from other areas of the world.
