With the expansion of bohemian and Scandinavian themes in recent years, variety of deco magazines have praised Berber carpets, starting from Zanagah rugs to Taznakht rugs to Beni Ourain to Boucherouite. we will now view them in any room of the house because of their pages.
However, it is a bit depressing to note that the large homewares brands have taken it over, making money off of the local craftsmanship and therefore the Berber tribes of the Moroccan Atlas. this is often literally distorting the magnificent history of those objects. they need them done in Asia under the name of “Berber style”, “Beni Ouarain style”, made from polluting and toxic synthetic fibers. It becomes necessary to understand the way to recognize a true Moroccan rug from an imitation since even on the Moroccan Souk you discover a number of these Berber carpets imitation. So i will be able to attempt to reveal you a number of their secrets.
Moroccan carpets back in time
Moroccan rugs find roots from the High and Middle Atlas Mountains crossing Morocco. Their first origins go up to the 2nd century BC. These carpets are the normal rural art practiced by women of nomadic or semi-nomadic people. they’re made up of virgin sheep’s wool.
Traditionally, Moroccan tribal carpets were made exclusively by women and just for personal use. Dense pile rugs served not only as floor coverings but as mattresses, seating and even blankets within the cold months. Each woman weaves her own biography and experiences into the rugs. they’re crammed with symbolism and vary greatly counting on the regions where they’re knotted.
The loom some time past was venerated and feared. Empty it had been dead, but as soon as wool yarns were stretched, it had been alive again. When it had been time to unravel the Berber rug from the loom, the ladies would sing because it meant temporary death and thus they have to mourn it.
The first Berber people created a selected knot called the Berber knot. and in contrast to oriental carpets, they’re never made on a model or a schema but weaved consistent with the present desire and inspiration of the lady who makes it.
The patterns represented on the Berber rugs evoke symbols found in parietal art. The trellis, the diamond, the cross and therefore the fish each invoke in their own way femininity, fertility and procreation. At an equivalent timel, a zigzag lines refers to the serpent phallic symbolism. you’ll find all the meanings and details of Berber symbols in our Moroccans Rugs Symbols post.
Moroccan rugs have long been desregarded and copied without the slightest consideration by carpets industry. it had been only within the 1900’s that several artists took interest on them and restored their declining value. Notably Paul Klee’s paintings including Berber geometric forms, and therefore the integration of those forms into architecture by Le Corbusier . Matisse for his part, called them the «white giants».
In recent years, they need been gaining popularity, especially the Beni Ourain rugs. All decoration brands still make imitations and sell them as «Berber Style Rugs». due to this popular success, the trends followers become to urge bored of them.
How to recognize a true Moroccan Berber carpet
The simplest and easiest method is to entrust this task to find a Moroccan Rugs retailer. You’ll find two sorts of Moroccan rugs, Modern and vintage. the latter being usually costlier and mainly intended for collectors. you’ll expect a minimum of $300 to shop for an authentic Medium size Berber rug through a trusted dealer.
Of course, you ought to avoid the large homewares brands that provide you polypropylene machined models at prices sometimes almost like a true handmade carpet.
If you’ve got the prospect to go to Morocco, then the perfect is to travel on to the center Atlas and buy your carpet from a cooperative of Berber women, but as you’ll guess this will be a touch complicated (but still feasible) for a primary time visit. If you’re in Marrakech, i counsel you to travel to the «Souk des tapis». you would like to be a reasonably good bargainer though as most of sellers tend to pump up the costs . And in particular , watch out for rugs sold by curbsides and hawkers which most of the time are made abroad in synthetic materials. Their low price will offer you a thought .
Here are some clues to assist you identify a true Berber carpet:
- Knots details
Take a glance at the rear of the carpet. a true Berber carpet is handmade, that’s why the knotting on the reverse side is necessarily irregular.
When the rear of the rug is tough plastic, this mean that your rugs top pile is formed from an artificial material and therefore the hard plastic back is holding the rug together
- Fringe and tassels
A real Berber carpet only has fringes on one side because these fringes result from the knots made to end the carpet.
However Berber artisans began to make double fringe rugs in contrast to traditional weaving process as more and more customers are keen on them.
- Fibers
The Berber rug is handmade of 100% undyed wool , which provides it a rather yellowish coloring. Avoid low-priced copies made from a mix of wool and artificial materials.
Wool is:
• Hypoallergenic
• Antibacterial
• Flame retardant
You will never have any allergy issues with wool (as long as you’re not allergic to it). a true Moroccan wool rug will last you decades, and may even be used as investment and heirloom pieces.
If taken care of properly, hand knotted wool rugs will hold their value extremely well. you’ll be lucky if an artificial rug lasts 3 years. they’re simply not made to last.
In order to have a real , authentic Berber rug, and become capable of identifying oriental rugs you would like to understand that it must be made up of wool!
Get or ask the vendor to require off few fibers from the rug which won’t be noticed. Burn them with a lighter flame or a matchstick and sniff at the smoke from the fibers as they burn.
Animal fibers – wool, alpacka, mohair, silk – all smell like burning feathers, with a pointy hint of burning sulphur. They also make a small black ball of ash that’s fairly firm but you’ll crush it between your fingers when it’s cold.
Oil-based fibers burn with a black-smokier flame to form a small black ball, sticky like napalm and may cause deep skin burns. When it’s cold you can’t crush it in the least .
