Marrakesh Express

Women Weavers OnLine

Ben Smim

 

The rug below belongs to Hassan Drouri and his wife Hasna, who wove it. She was not present to be photographed. He is a school teacher and they have three children, two of whom are boys. If this rug sells he would like to use the money to buy another rug.

 

 

 

Piece 3.6066 is a very large hanbel or flatweave with red and black wool stripes and the design bands in white cotton accented in red, bright and pale turquoise, and sequins. You can see those colors and the weaving clearly in this close-up. You can notice another characteristic of some of these rugs on the larger photo: the design seems to float above the plain bands. Notice how there appear to be pink areas in the border. In fact, they are where the red stripes run out to the edge of the rug, under the white design, making it look pink. The size of this piece is 5'9" x 11'5" (165 x 347 cm) and the price is $575.

 

 

The piece below is another traditional hanbel or flatweave, made by Aicha Mabrouk about 30 years ago. She is a long-time weaver and is sixty now, married to a farmer. If this rug sells he would like to buy a goat.

 

 

Piece 3.6072 is an older hanbel with quite a simple design. It is basically plain stripes in faded black, red, green, a soft mauve and orange with a few design bands in white cotton. The center design band has the additional colors of orange, red and green. You can see how the more complex pieces above grew out of this simpler style. In this detail you can see that what appears to be brown bordering the left stripe here on screen is actually a soft mauve, and that the wool has a nice sheen to it. This piece measures about 5' x 9'6" (152 x 289 cm) and costs $180.

 

 

 

 

The two pillows below were made by Zuhor Agnosamoum. Her husband herds goats, and they have just recently settled in Ben Smim after moving with the goat herds. The two pillows below in one room would be nice as variations on a theme by the same weaver. And the colors are great for the holidays: one even has a green and the other a red back.

 

 

 

 

 

Piece 3.6076 is a pillow with three large diamonds on the face in white cotton, accented in red, green and brown. In the close-up you can see pink threads in the brown: they are where sequins were once attached. Removing them does not harm the structure of the piece; you could take off the threads too if you wished. The back is a pale pistachio green with thin white stripes. The size is about 1'3" x 1'8" (38 x 51 cm) and it costs $60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piece 3.6079 is another pillow with three large diamonds on the face in white cotton, accented in red, green and brown. But look at the difference in the two - illustrating how a fine weaver can play with colors and design elements. In this detail you can see the sequin threads, and also that there are a few remaining sequins. The back is a dark red, almost maroon, with thin white stripes. This pillow measures about 1'4" x 2'1" and the price is $60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Khadija Lrhachi, holding the rug described below. She is 37 and has five children. Her husband is a mason, and if the rug sells he would like to buy goats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piece 3.6082 is a large older rug with two "faces", one pile which you see here, and the other flatweave which you can see here. The colors are soft and include red, white, black, yellow and a bit of orange, and look quite faded on the flatweave side. The rug is about 20 years old. The color variations you see here appear to be due to different dye lots, so for example to the right there is a section in which the red is paler across the entire width. The close-up of the pile side gives you the clearest view of the colors and designs, and you can look at them from the other side too. This piece measures about 6' x 9'6" ( cm) and costs $240.

 

 

 

 

Piece 3.6086 was made by Halima Abadi, whom you have met before; she made several items shown on earlier Ben Smim pages. Shown here is a red blanket with black stripes at each end. It is about 12 years old, and is the first thing Halima made after she was married. If you recall her other pieces, some of which were quite complex, like flat and pile rugs with designs and a sequined and tufted bedspread, you can see how these women begin simple and develop their skills. The red has faded to become very soft and has a bit of color variation, and the wool has a nice sheen, all seen clearly in this detail. Beyond the simple design, it's clear that this was a beginner's piece because the length varies by about 10 inches from one edge (notice the top) to the other. The size is about 5'8" x 8'6" [ranging from 8'2" to 9'] and the price is $210.

 

 

The bag below was made by Hadda Ouadou. Her husband is a shepherd, and she helps with the sheep. They have four children between the ages of 2 and 12 years. None of them attend school, probably because they must move the sheep to different grazing areas outside towns, so are not settled near any one school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piece 3.6089 is something I first saw in Ben Smim: a small travel bag, or a large purse. It is woven in the same style as the pillows, but especially for this purpose, since there are special panels for the sides, top and bottom. You can see here the top, and the other side which uses the same general designs and colors but is not identical to this. The top closes with a zipper, and has a bit of yellow in addition to the colors you see here. This piece measures 1'3" square and is 5.5" deep, and the price is $120.

 

 

 

 

 

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