Vintage Moroccan Berber Rugs

Moroccan Berber rugs — hand-knotted, one of a kind

Every rug here was knotted by hand in Morocco from hand-spun sheep’s wool, mostly by women weaving in villages of the Atlas mountains. No cartoon, no drawing to follow — the pattern is worked out on the loom, which is why two rugs of the same type never come out alike and why the lines wander a little. What you get is an actual old textile with the marks of use on it, not a new rug printed to look old.

You will see both Berber and Amazigh used for these weavings. Amazigh is what the people call themselves; Berber is the older term the trade still uses, and it is how most customers search. We use both.

What to look for — by look, not by tribe

• Ivory and quiet — undyed white or cream wool with a loose diamond lattice in charcoal or brown, deep pile. This is the classic Beni Ourain, and Mrirt is the finer, denser version of it.
• Colourful and graphic — abstract fields, free drawing, strong colour. In Morocco these are Azilal and Boujad, with Boujad running to pink, rose and terracotta.
• Fine and flat-ish — Taznakht from the south, more tightly woven, often with a mix of pile and flatweave bands in one piece.
• Flatwoven — hanbel and kilims from Zemmour and Zanafi weavers: thin, light, for a hallway, a wall, or over the back of a sofa.
• Boucherouite — rag rugs, knotted from strips of recycled clothing and fabric rather than wool. Riotous colour, very hard-wearing, and a genuinely different material: the fibre content is mixed and stated individually on each piece rather than being wool.

Living with a Berber — an honest note

The deep pile is what people fall for, and it is also the thing to think about. A long-pile Beni Ourain is wonderful to sit on and hopeless under a dining chair — the legs sink in and catch. It flattens in a walking line, and an undyed ivory field shows every mark. In a hallway or a family kitchen, take a flatweave or a Taznakht instead.

Vintage pieces are not uniform. Sides run a centimetre or two out of true, the diamonds are drawn freehand, and colour shifts where a new batch of wool started. That is what hand-spun, hand-drawn work looks like from close up.

One thing that surprises people: Moroccan wool is spun with a good deal of its natural lanolin left in, and in a damp room — or in the first days after unpacking — a new-to-you rug can carry a faint sheepy smell. It fades with airing and normal room humidity. If your flat is humid year-round, it is worth knowing in advance.

And because it is wool: pieces that sit for years untouched under a heavy cupboard or rolled up in a cellar are the ones moths find.

The facts

• Material: 100 % hand-spun sheep’s wool, except Boucherouite pieces, whose mixed fibre content is stated individually
• Construction: hand-knotted; hanbel and kilims hand-woven flat
• Sizes: from about 100 × 150 cm up to oversize
• Condition: washed and ready to lay
• Underfloor heating: suitable
• Label STEP Fair Trade: fair wages, no child labour, monitored working conditions

Care

Vacuum with the rotating brush bar switched off — on a long pile it pulls the wool out rather than cleaning it — and go with the direction of the pile. Shake smaller pieces outdoors; it does more than vacuuming. Turn the rug end for end once or twice a year, especially an ivory one, so light and footfall fall evenly. Blot spills rather than rubbing. Washing, repair and restoration we do ourselves. Customers in Germany can use our washing, repair and restoration service, with collection and return in the Würzburg region; elsewhere we are glad to help you find a specialist nearby.

Related collections

Kilims and flatweaves · Contemporary designer rugs · Living room rugs · Small rugs · Vintage rugs