Morocco has a long history of weaving some of the most beautiful rugs in the world. The ancient weaving started before the 7th Century with the Berber tribe, people of North Africa who settled in Morocco during this period.
For thousands of years, the women of the tribe have woven exquisite hand knotted wool rugs inspired by tribal ceremony and symbolism. The Berber tribe still exists today, living in the Atlas mountain regions of Morocco, where the ancient weaving techniques are preserved and passed down from mother to daughter.
The Berber tribe is still responsible for producing the majority of handmade Moroccan rugs in our marketplace. Moroccan rugs are unique in their designs, patterns and colors since each rug is woven without any diagram or pattern to follow. The weaver interprets important designs and patterns that are relevant to daily tribal life and reproduces these motifs in the rug.
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Rugs often tell a story of tribal ancestors or the weaver’s life combined with tribal superstitions that are a strong part of these remote rural regions. Characterized by geometric patterns that are often asymmetrical and rich vibrant colors reminiscent of church stained glass windows, Moroccan rugs work well to accent contemporary interiors and architecture.
Bold colors like reds, oranges, yellows, blues, greens and purples are mixed with naturals, browns and blacks representing colors found in nature, plants and wildlife indigenous to the region of the tribe. The dyes that produce these vivid colors are made from plants and berries like henna, madder root, pomegranate, figs and tea leaves found abundantly in the mountains.
The natural and black wool used comes directly from sheep and goats in the area, like the black-haired goats that roam and climb the Atlas mountain areas.
A Moroccan rug is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, a work of art, that will provide beauty for a lifetime. With proper care, colors will not fade and wool will not wear out, leaving a rug that can be passed down for
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More About The Moroccan Beni Ourain Rugs
Beni Ourain Rugs – The Beni Ourain is a group of Moroccan people that is actually comprised of seventeen different Berber tribes, all of whom hail from that country’s Atlas mountain range.
A semi-nomadic people, the Beni Ourain are primarily shepherds and goatherds who have historically raised their livestock high in the mountains, moving with their herds from one graze land to the next.
It is in large part due to the extraordinarily fine wool produced by this livestock that Beni Ourain have historically produced such fine rugs and carpets. Because of the diversity of the seventeen different tribes that make up the Beni Ourain, there is a fascinating and subtle difference in the patterns and design elements present in the rugs and carpets that they produced. While some Beni Ourain tribes have preferred colors – always utilizing natural dyes – other tribes have preferred monochromatic design elements.
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Those rugs and carpets that are most broadly representative of the aesthetic of the Beni Ourain, however, are those that boast geometric designs: lines of black or brown that come together to form grid and diamond patterns.
It is a combination of these seemingly disparate factors – the fine wool harvested by the Beni Ourain and their penchant for abstract, geometric art – that make Beni Ourain rugs among the most desirable in today’s rug market.
Thick, shaggy rugs with tantalizingly abstract designs were championed by the leading designers of the mid-twentieth century, including Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, bringing the ancient Beni Ourain rugs into the forefront of the design world of today.
It is a fascinating set of historical and cultural developments that have made Moroccan rugs as popular as they are today. The Beni Ourain – with a penchant for abstract symbolism and geometry as well as a steady supply of fine grade wool – happened to be weaving rugs and carpets that would be perfectly suited to the design aesthetics of the Western World in the decades following the end of the Second World War.
Moroccan rugs by the Beni Ourain remain among the most desirable pieces today, and are sought after the world over, both by experts in antique Oriental rugs and everyday people who appreciate the lasting artistic value of such rugs.
While the rug price for Beni Ourain Moroccan rugs is still considerably low, this is a great time to buy these phenomenal works of art! Since the shipping to you is on us, why not try one of these pieces in home.