Tired of traditional carpets and kilims? Or, bored with the sameness of contemporary patterns? Break out of the monotony and opt for a funky Moroccan Berber rug instead. Unlike the carefully worked out symmetry of most rugs and carpets, these heavy-pile floor coverings range from geometric shapes in a more free-form and expressive pattern. Because they vary from stark black and white to popping hues, and because their patterns are so bold and so abstract, they work equally well in classic as well as contemporary decor.
Little wonder then, that top interior designers across the world have been favouring this rug over any other over the past couple of years or so. So much so, that the Berber’s trellised black and white pattern has spawned a multitude of variants in machine-made rugs everywhere.
Little wonder also, that the Berber once enjoyed huge popularity with mid-century modern designers such as Le Corbusier, who paired them with their sleekly designed furniture. Part of the appeal to the modernists was the primitivism in the carpets. Unlike the other oriental rugs, there is little elegance about these rugs, yet they fit wonderfully with modernist décor. Also, unlike most oriental carpets which are woven by men, the Berber is woven mainly by women of the Beni Ourain tribe from the Rif Mountains near Taza.
Mastery of the craft is passed on from mother to daughter, which is a tradition of learning in rural areas.
Another point of note is that while all other Islamic-era carpets have florals and constructed geometrics, the random and abstract language of the Berber rug is derived from the body, the form and the functions of the human sexual organs. Based on the duality and the meeting of the two sexes, it becomes the expression of a magic of universal fertility. As an artistic creation of the Berber woman, her carpet mainly reflects the phases of her life and the experience of her sexual life—as a virgin, a new bride, union with man, pregnancy, and childbirth.
The decorative patterns on the different weaves are very significant and differ from one tribe to another. But what they all have in common are the rough hewn patterns that do not follow any given grid or rigid format—and therein lies their free-spirited beauty.