Collector's Items
I've been saying for quite a while that I'll be selling some items from my personal collection, and that time has finally come. I've moved from a house to an apartment, so cannot use all of my favorite personal pieces - which is my loss, but your gain. These are the rugs that I bought to sell, but then could not part with, until now. 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 many of those below. I think you will enjoy just looking at them, and some of you may want to give them a new home. Nearly all are flatweave from the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco (others are noted) and they are wool with white designs usually in cotton; a few bright highlight colors may be acrylic yarn. The prices are often more than on my other pages, but that's because these really are unique items, many antique (one below has a 1931 date on it), that you would be very unlikely to find today.
I have added a few less expensive textiles and jewelry items at the end of these pages (click Next Section) for those with more limited budgets.
Prices for all items include shipping in the US; others can inquire to my email below. Ordering instructions are at the end of these pages.
Click on the photos for a larger picture.
Piece 9.0538D is what I call my "Mohammed the Fifth" rug, because the
friend I bought it from in Midelt said it was once
used at an occasion where the current King of Morocco's grandfather sat on it.
It is flatwoven with a dark ground, hard to find in
these rugs, and an overall design of diamonds and chevrons. The designs have
touches of soft pink and orange and olive green. In the close-up you can see how detailed the weaving is.
The size is about 3.5 x 9.5 feet (107 x 290 cm) and the price is $2800.
Piece 9.0561D is unusual in that the white design is executed in natural wool, not the usual cotton, making the appearance softer than usual. The photo reminds me of a painting. The color combination is also unusual, with a soft violet, and smaller bands in pale gold and sage green. I wonder if they may be natural dyes, but don't really know. This flatwoven piece has been repaired expertly, also unusual in Morocco, so the violet varies in color; you can see this in the close-up near my small finger, and in other spots where the color is darker. Also notice the small designs scattered through the plain bands. It measures about 5'3" x 10' (160 x 305 cm) and costs $4500.
Piece 9.0554D is probably the oldest in this collection. It has a date of 1931 embroidered at one end, in what looks like
warp wool, not a modern addition. You can see the embroidery wool especially
well on the back. Another clue to age are the
small sequins and shiny silk used to decorate it, which you can see in this close-up. Neither has been available for many years.
Except for the colored silk and white cotton tufts, the rug is a flatweave with wide design bands and plain bands in red,
gray, rust and black. You can see those colors and the intricate designs in the
close-up, and this photo with the front and back
shows the color is not faded at all. It is in excellent condition and a large,
museum quality piece, measuring about 6' x 12'8" (183 x 386 cm) and priced
at $4800.
Piece 9.5169 is a very finely woven flatweave rug with plain bands in a brick red-orange, deep blue and green, and intricate design bands plus added vertical bands. The very fine detail in the weaving can be seen in this close-up. The lacy diamonds remind me of the tatoos some older Berber women have, and the small ones of jewels. When I bought it in the 1990s I was told it was 50 years old and made by a woman for her wedding. I'm not sure that's true...but I like the story. The size is about 4'9" x 9'3" (145 x 282cm) and the price is $3300.
Piece 9.5167 is also one of my very favorite Middle Atlas flatweaves, like the rug above, but notice how different
they are, even coming from a relatively small area. The piece above is very
finely done with crisp colors and design, while this one has much softer colors
and is less finely-woven. But the richness and variation within the colors and
the sheen of the wool give it a very special look. The photo does not do the
colors justice; this close-up is a bit better,
though the orange is not right; in realilty it is
softer and more 'rusty'. It iis deep and has some
violet-red in it, and the grayish areas are really a pale violet with variation
or abrash, as you can see in the close-up.
It measures 4'7" x 8'6" (140 x 260 cm) and costs $1500. SOLD
Piece 9.0575D is yet another type of Middle Atlas flatweave, this one with an overall design of chevrons and diamonds divided into 3 fields by rows of what I think of as "bow tie" designs and fringe. The complex white designs on a brick-red ground are a vituoso feat of weaving. In addition, the back is fully covered with white cotton fringe, making this piece very warm and chushiony on a cold floor. Notice the different borders in each section when you click the photo on the right to see the full piece, and how some of the borders themselves vary. Also how the diamonds at each end are different - some on the left seem to be trying to merge; you can gaze at these rugs for hours. In the larger close-up you can see the accent colors of green, gold and orange, and the beautifully detailed weaving. Also notice the dots in the red border above my small finger. Those are where sequins were attached, so this rug sparkled as well. There are a few spots, which I think I can wash away. The size is 4'10" x8'2' (147 x 250 cm) and the price is $2600. SOLD
Piece 9.0530D is one of the few rugs with pile or knots among these collector's items. It is a Glawa rug from south of the High Atlas Mountains, and contains three types of weaving: flatweave (the black and white bands), pile ( the red and gold) and twining (the patterned black and white). You can see the twining clearly near the fingertips in the close-up, and also the touches of blue in the rug. While it is very difficult to date rugs, I haven't seen these colors used this way for quite a long time. The nearly square shape is unusual, as you can see from the rugs above. It measures about 4'9" x 6'10" (145 x 208 cm) and costs $850.
Piece 9.5235 is Moroccan, but different from all the above, and from most
rugs in Morocco. It comes from the southern part of the Middle Atlas, near the
town of Khenifra, and is called a Zayan
(or Zaiane) rug. In fact I bought them both at the Khenifra Sunday market in 1970. These rugs are usually
quite large and closer to square than most, and use vey thickly spun wool; this
Zayan style is favored by decorators creating
mid-century modern settings. These are among the few Moroccan rugs with two
fully usable faces. The flat side is used facing up in the summer; it it cooler to sit on. In the winter one sits on the 'fuzzy' side, for warmth. I call these rugs
"evolving rugs" because as you walk on them they evolve, so on the
side that is all bright red, the design on the other side begins to show. You
can see that on the back of this rug. You can see the design better in the
close-up of the front, and the size of the yarn in
the close-up of the back. The next two photos
show you the small amount of damage in this rug; it seems a mouse has gotten at
it and it should not be hard to repair, but it has lowered the price. The size
of this rug is 5'6" x 8'6" (168 x 257 cm) and the price is $1600. SOLD
Piece 9.5239 is another Zayan carpet, this a bit larger and with more colors, and a fully red back. (The darker areas are shadows from trees.) I love the warmth of that red in a room; it reminds me of a fire. In the close-up of the front you can see the colors better: black, white, red, orange, and a soft gold and green. They barely show through on the back. This rug measures about 6'4" x 10' (190 x 305 cm) and costs $2200.
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. This piece measures 5’8” x 9’8” (173 x 295 cm) and the price is
$1800. SOLD
However, I am including it here because this style
of rug is easier to find in fine antique pieces than the others above, so I
could shop for one if you wished; I have done so successfully for others. Just
email me at the address below.
Capes
The next group of items were made to be worn as capes by women, usually for special events like attending a wedding. In each village and region the styles differ. For example, in the Middle Atlas near the towns of Ifrane and Azrou, the capes are generally white or natural wool, often subtly striped with a nubby wool or cotton. Interspersed in the cape are design bands with touches of color, smaller versions of those in the rugs. The first two capes here are another style, from the Beni Ouarain area east of Fes, and their colors are often plain black and white with small touches of red and gold. Most of these I would not use on the floor, but they can be bedspreads, draped on a couch like an afghan, or hung on the wall. One elegant friend wore hers as a cape - to the opera.
Piece 9.0535D is an elegant Beni Ouarain cape, with a very complex design in black and white and highlights in red and gold. The small photo here is just half the cape, so you can see the detail better. If you click on it, you can see the whole cape. In this close-up you can see the design more clearly, and this photo shows the fringe on the back of the cape, which serves as insulation and makes it warmer. This piece is tightly woven and you could use it on the floor in a low traffic area like a bedroom - or wear it to the opera! The size is 2'10" x 6'9" (about 86 x 206 cm) and the price is $1100. SOLD
Piece 9.5198 is probably also a Beni Ouarain cape, though the style is different. In fact you can see both styles on page 109 in the excellent book Moroccan Carpets by Pickering, Pickering and Yohe. They date the piece like this one between 1925-1950. Click the small photo to see the whole cape. This cape is much thinner than the one above and has no fringe on the back. It has a very soft "hand" or suppleness, and has stripes mostly of violet/brown, black, pale green/gold and indigo, but the violet becomes a pale rusty red near the ends. I wonder about natural dyes here; pomegranate skin would produce the green/yellow, and the rusty red could be from madder root. Some of the white in the design bands is wool and some is cotton, and note the delicate touches of pink, one near my finger, in the enlargement. You can see the lovely indigo there too. This is too delicate to use on the floor, but would be a gorgeous throw (and warm wrap) on the back of a couch or wall hanging. It measures about 2'9" x 6'4" (84 x 193 cm) and costs $1200. SOLD
Piece 5.14962 is a different style of cape, coming from the Middle Atlas
mountains near Azrou. Here again I put the close-up
to show you the detail, and you can click it to see the whole cape. While this
is not in the same category as the capes above, it's a piece that may appeal to
collectors. This cape illustrates the frequent practice of the use of different
whites, with the ground natural white wool and white stripes in a nubby
"cotton." The fringe here is on the front in another white
"cotton", not for warmth but as part of the design; the back is very simple and not for
display. The colors in the design bands provide a bright accent as you can see
in the close-up, and are from acrylic
sweater yarn. The size is about 3'3" x 5'9" (100 x 175 cm). It was
probably made in the last 20 years, and the price reflects that, at $225. SOLD
Runners
The pieces below were originally made as tent walls, let down to keep in the warmth, and raised to let in the breeze. Given the beautiful designs, you could also think of them as "tent wallpaper." Rug merchants in Morocco will tell you they are runners, but since traditional Moroccan homes had rooms grouped around a courtyard, there were no halls needing runners. However the proportions work well for our halls.
Piece 9.0552D has an overall diamond design in red, white and green with touches of blue, and although I bought it (not new then) about 20 years ago, it's still in mint condition. Such overall designs with much white are a characteristic of the Azrou region of the Middle Atlas Mountains. You can see the fine weaving better in this close-up. It measures about 2'8" x 11'2" (about 79 x 340 cm) and costs $2100.
Piece 9.0548D has a classic chevron design with the individual strips in varied patterns. There are some repetitions, but the strips between those vary; I could look at this for hours. It's in the hard-to-find brown/red and blue with gold accents, characteristic of Beni Mtir rugs. It's a full piece, just folded by the wind in this photo. This close-up shows the pattern better and also the full bottom end, and this one another unique characteristic: some of the warp threads are on the face of the runner. This is not due to wear; you can see how it lies over the white design near the bottom finger in the photo. However it does have a defect, which is the hole visible at the left end. Because of this, and two tears in the bottom apron (on top right), the price of this item is low for the antique piece that it is. Instead of repairing the hole, another option would be to cut off the end with the hole, make that into a pillow and put fringe on the rest, making a shorter runner. The size is 2'10" x 11'9" (86 x 358 cm) and the price is $1200.
Piece 9.6659 is a good runner for a dark hall with its mainly white background. It is accented in jewel-like primary colors, seen clearly with the intricate detail, in this close-up. The bottom end has the same pattern as the top, plus a black fringe; I bought it new about 25 years ago. It measures 3'2" x 10'2" (96 x 310cm) and costs $1500.
Pieces 9.5207 are shown larger than the others so you can see the detail. However you can see it even better in this close-up. It was a very sad day when I discovered this gorgeous long narrow piece had been water damaged in my storage area. The colors had run in from the edges in scallops, so I saved what I could by cutting it. While the white is predominant, you can see a soft red and orange in the close-up, and notice above the sage green outlining the diamonds, clearest in the pillow pieces on the left. The long piece would make a stunning runner; the sides just need to be bound; the ends are intact. It measures 21" x 13'9" (53 x 419 cm) and costs $1700.
The pieces which with backing would become pillows, or could perhaps be made into coverings for chair seats, range from the largest at 13" x 24.5" (33 x 62 cm) to the smallest (on the top right) at 15" x 16.5" (38 x 42 cm).They cost $70 each.
The runner and each piece can be purchased separately.
To Order
To order something from Marrakesh Express, click here. Please do NOT send payment until I have assured you via return email that it is available, since sometimes things sell quickly.
Because it's difficult to fully appreciate a piece without seeing it and how it fits into your own setting, refunds (less the cost of mailing and handling) are guaranteed for pieces that I have here in the US which are returned in their original condition .
If you want to have me shop for you for specific items, or have any questions, send me e-mail at sdavis@uslink.net .
Copyright © Susan S. Davis 1997- 2009. All rights reserved.