and New
York City, met Brahim Karaoui during
a desert trek in 2000, after which
the two became friends and began
traveling together. Karaoui buys the
rugs from local artisans, which means
that the proceeds of their sale benefit
the Berber women who weave them
by hand on traditional upright looms. Moroccan rugs have a long, cultural
history rooted in the nomadic Berber
tribes of North Africa. Becau
se
the rugs are traditionally made by
women for use by their families,
and historically were rarely traded,
they tend to incorporate symbols
of personal significance that appear
abstract and inscrutable to the
untrained eye. Symbols incorporated into Moroccan
rugs illustrate the weaver’s hopes
and fears and often evoke marriage,
fertility and familial stability. A
common symbol is the diamond-
shaped “evil eye,” meant to ward off
evil from the home. Other symbols
represent hospitality; the zigzag
pattern nomads follow when traveling
through the dunes; and nomad tents. The rugs are typically woven in tents
and private homes, and occasionally,
in small workshops, of natural fabrics
and dyes: Camel and goat hair; a
type of “silk” manufactured from
plant fibers; henna, indigo, saffron
and mascara. They are remarkably
durable, but due to their organic
origins are often treated when used in
areas where spills are common. In Morocco the rugs are used in tents
and homes as floor coverings, room
dividers and as sleeping mats and
blankets. They were first popularized
for Western décor by Le Corbusier
in the 1920s and 1930s, and are
increasingly used to bring texture
and artistry to contemporary décor. Unlike mass-produced rugs, such as
those most often available in stores,
Moroccan rugs are highly variable,
owing to the personal narratives
incorporated by their individual
weavers, and usually fall into two
categories: Knotted pile rugs made
in the Atlas Mountains and urban
centers such as the city of Rabat,
and flat-weave kilims made in rural
areas such as the Sahara Desert. The
majority of these rugs are among the
latter, and come from the shop of
Brahim Karaoui, a merchant in the
small oasis of Merzouga, beside the
orange Erg Chebi dunes of the Sahara.
