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North African
One
of the more significant North African styles is the Moroccan.
Prior to the 19th century no Moroccan rugs have been found. A
unique characteristic of Moroccan rugs is that they can be
up to 15 feet long. Even though the newer rugs tend to be
shorter, they are still quite long. Moroccan rugs can be pile
weave, flat weave, or a combination of both. All Moroccan
rugs are geometric. In general, the colors used in Moroccan
weaving are soft shades of red, blue, mauve, green, yellow,
and white. Moroccan rugs can be divided into the two main
categories of urban and tribal. The urban rugs are produced
in Rabat and Mediouna, which are very different in appearance
from the tribal rugs. The tribal rugs are woven by the weaving
tribes of Plains of Marrakesh, High Atlas, Zemmour Confederation,
and Middle Atlas. Even though most tribal rugs are very different
in appearance from the urban rugs, they have been influenced by
urban rugs to some degree. |
Rabat Rug
With All-over
Diamonds
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Urban
Rugs
Rabat
The
older rugs of Rabat have several minor borders; as a result,
they have long and narrow fields. The field usually consists
of a double-ended medallion or sometimes all-over diamonds
with two large and side-by-side stepped triangles at each
end of the rug. Tulips are a frequent motif in rugs of Rabat.
The background is frequently red and the motifs are in various
bright colors. After World War I, in response to the Western
taste, mainly Europe, colors became softer, and today's rugs
consist of floral motifs on a plain field similar to modern
Persian Kerman styles.
Mediouna
Rugs of Mediouna, a small town near Casablanca, have fewer
minor borders than the Rabat rugs; therefore, they have a
wider field. There could be more than three octagonal medallions
on the field. Traditional Mediouna rugs are no longer woven,
but the style is copied.
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Tribal
rugs
The
main difference between the urban rugs and traditional tribal
rugs is that in tribal rugs there is less symmetry in the overall design,
and many times no borders exist. Some common tribal designs include
horizontal stripes containing various repeating geometric motifs such as diamonds
with hooks or steps, squares, and triangles; all-over lattices
mainly in shapes of diamonds; or repeating motifs arranged in
rows or columns on a plain field. However, tribal
rugs have been influenced by urban rugs; therefore, borders,
medallions, symmetry in design and even floral motifs can
sometimes be seen in newer tribal rugs.
The
Plains of Marrakesh
The tribal weavers of the Plains of Marakesh produce are very
diverse designs. Pile rugs from the Chiadma area and the Oulad
Bou Sbaa tribes have a unique mixture of medallions, borders,
and motifs characteristic of Rabat and/or the traditional
tribal bands with geometric motifs. The rugs of the Rehamna
tribe, on the other hand, have unique free-form designs.
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The
High Atlas
The tribal weavers of the High Atlas make rugs with symmetrical designs. The field contains a square, rectangular
or diamond medallion. Sometimes there are one or more diamond
shapes within the medallion. The rest of the field can consist
of diamond lattices, all-over motifs in rows or columns, or
bands of geometric motifs. The older rugs tend to have no
borders or a very narrow border, and even in the flat weaves, the designs are created
with knots.
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The
Zemmour Confederation
In rugs of Zemmour Confederation there is often symmetry in
the design. The pile rugs often have geometric motifs
on a red background. Flat weaves frequently consist of bands
of stripes; some bands are plain and some consist of different
geometric patterns such as diamonds, triangles, or zigzags.
In the flat weaves, white cotton is used to create contrast.
These rugs can be very colorful.
The
Middle Atlas
The pile rugs and flat weaves of the Middle Atlas are very
similar to the rugs of Zemmour Confederation with the exception
of their asymmetrical designs. Also the designs are
more crowded.
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