Marrakesh Express
Collector’s Items
(All prices include Priority Mail shipping and insurance within the United States.)
I’m adding a special section for these items because the prices are higher than usual and I wanted to explain why. These are the kind of pieces that rarely come on the market any more; I fear the women who made them are literally a dying breed. I have found some smaller, more recent pieces finely made, so the skills aren’t entirely gone, but it seems people don’t take, or have, the time to make large pieces like those below. The first two are the oldest and the most finely woven; it’s a real pity that my camera couldn’t capture that on the overall photos. Even though they are sold, I am leaving them on for those of you who would like to see some really fine flatweaves. The last piece is newer and not as fine overall, but the rich detail qualifies it as a collector’s item. All three are a deep rich maroon that I wonder if might be a vegetable dye, the red made from madder roots. I’m not a dye expert, so really can’t say, but as an ethnographer I went to a rural shop last summer that was selling the root and asked what people used it for and he said dye, so evidently the practice has not died out.
Piece 0.112838 is an antique classic Zemmour piece, the kind you rarely find any more. The size is made for a traditional room, and the color a rich maroon with design bands in black, white and orange, which you can see on the overview. The work is very fine and regular. The gold tufts, which you can see best on the close-up (click the small photo), are probably silk, something else you don’t find in Moroccan rugs any more. (They use the same Arabic word, hrir, for rayon, which is used for today’s Tiflet pieces.) This piece measures 5’8” x 9’8” and the price is $1800. SOLD
Piece 0.112840 is probably the most finely woven Zemmour piece I have seen until now (one can always keep hoping to find such things!). It is an antique flatweave in a rich maroon with the traditional design in white, black and orange. You can see the laciness of the design on the overall photo, even if my camera doesn’t capture the detail. However, the enlarged close-up shows what a gorgeous piece this is. Notice how the design bands are each bordered by symmetrical bands in another design, and sometimes by two sets of these bands. I couldn’t quite capture the rich maroon on the close-up, but it does show a design band on the left that I have never seen before. There are also tufts between some rows, mostly in maroon wool, but a few in orange or violet silk. This piece is 5’9” x 9’11” and costs $2000. SOLD
Piece 0.112820 is a classic
Zemmour piece, but probably fairly recently made. One sign of this is that the tufts that are silk on older pieces
seem to be rayon on this one, based on my burning test: the violet threads
melted, which means synthetic. It has,
however, the classic aspects of good pieces: a rich maroon color, with some
variation toward rich red at the bottom (check the full
photo). The design bands are
bordered by smaller design bands, which you can see clearly on the
close-up. On that you can also see the
silk-like tufts, and the sequins sprinkled over the rug. That makes it classic for Moroccans; often
the ones in shops have the sequins cut off (which is easily done and does not
harm the structure), since most westerners dislike them. But if you’ve ever seen such a rug by candle
or lantern light, the way they were originally used in tents, you understand
the charm of the sequins catching bits of light. The size is a generous 6’3” x 11’6 ½” and the price is a bargain
(because I got one on it) at $1200.
