Marrakesh Express
Small and Medium Moroccan Rugs and Capes
Reminder: All prices include insurance and shipping via Priority Mail inside the US. For other locations, email me about shipping costs.
The pieces below are made by a women's weaving cooperative in Boulemane Morocco in the Middle Atlas Mountains about 50 miles south of Fes. Khadija Hjije, the secretary of the co-op, brought some of these rugs to the First International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe in July 2004, and my daughter and I helped her sell them. The coop women get all of the profit on the pieces below.
Piece 5.15218 has a personality all its own, with the bold geometric interior design and checkerboard border. The ground is a deep navy blue and the checks a dusty rose, with other colors including bright red and blue, teal, beige, yellow, gold, sage and pastel green. You can see some of them in this detail. The size is about 3' x 4'9" (92 x 145 cm) and the price is $180.
Piece 5. 15262 has a dusty rose ground with many colors in the designs including bright and dark red, black, white. yellow, light and medium blue, pastel blue, olive and maroon - and I've probably overlooked some! You can check on the close-up. It measures about 3' x 4'4" (92 x 132 cm) and costs $180.
Piece 5.15256 has a pale yellow ground with the bold design in red, maroon, black white and blue. You can see the yellow best on the upper left when you click the photo. To see the designs better, see the detail. The size is about 34 x 51" (about 3' x 4') or cm and the price is $160.
The pieces below are "something a little different" - they are from Mexico, but have a Native American look that people say they also see in some Moroccan rugs, especially from southern Morocco.
Piece 2.11247 is in subdued colors, and has a Navajo feel to it, especially in the slightly assymetrical cross design in the center. The ground is a natural off-white, and the central design is in gray. We learned that there are not "naturally gray" sheep in this area of Mexico, but that gray is made by spinning together natural light and dark yarns. The other colors are black, a rusty brown in the cross, and strips of a dark sage green, almost a putty color at each end. You can see the colors in this detail. This piece measures about 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 feet (76 x 137 cm) and costs $105.
Piece
2.11249 has a Navajo feel to it, especially in the colors and the stepped designs
and crosses in the corners. The ground is gray and has a definite
abrash or color change to it; such color changes are valued because they show
the rug is hand made. You can see this best on the close
up. The red is very
rich, even moreso than it looks in the photos, though the close up gives
you
a better
idea.
The two irregular designs in the gray field further
add to the handmade look of this rug. It is 2'7 1/2" x 4'9" (80 x
145 cm) and costs $105.
The small flatweave rugs below are called Oued Zem rugs or children's rugs and they are relatively new and quite plentiful in Morocco. While most my rugs are wool, these use acrylic yarn for the designs, and sometimes mix wool and acrylic for the background color. The rugs below are sold, but left here for ordering purposes. Although one can't usually get an identical one, if you see something you like and would like to order a similar one, perhaps in a different background color, you could email me and I can get one on my next trip, or ask my associate Habiba to buy and ship one right away from Morocco. That latter option will add about $25 to the price for airmail shipping and handling from Morocco. The bright colors could rub off on a carpet underneath, so they should be used with a pad.
Piece 3.13689 is a blue children's rug with geometric designs, branched plants and imaginary animals which you can see best in this close-up. The animals there have long ears, or horns, and long tails - what might they be? Rabbits? Gazelles? You'll notice there are also larger animals with the ears but no legs or tails. This piece measures about 3'2" x 4'8" (96 x 142cm) and costs $85. SOLD, but you can order a similar one in blue or black or white and sometimes other colors.
Piece 3.13691 is a children's rug in black, this one with only colorful geometric designs and without a central "cross" outline like those above. While these designs may look fairly similar, this detail shows the variation. The size is about 3' x 5' (91 x 152cm) and the price is $85. SOLD, but you can order a similar one in black.
Piece 4.14468 is in an orangey-red with multicolored animals and geometric designs. Look at this detail and see if you can decide what the animals are - I can't. The size is about 40" x 57" (101 x 145 cm) and the price is $85. SOLD but can be ordered.
