Women Weavers OnLine
N'kob
This is Fatima Tamazouz and she made the rug below. Her husband is a farmer, and she has four sons. The two older ones are 7 and 10 and attend school. The youngest is one, and another is five. The five year old was born with a malformed head, and the NGO that helped form the village development association helped him get an operation in Casablanca. He is normal mentally and the operation helped him, but Fatima says if she sells her rug she will use the money to seek more treatment for him, and to buy food for the family.
Piece
3.13636 would make an elegant runner for a wide hallway. It's a pile rug with
five design panels and two large borders and the designs are clearly drawn.
The main colors are navy blue and a cherry red, and the gold is not too bright.
However, as you can see on this close-up, some
of the red and gold have run into the white, probably when it was washed. Some
color may have run into the upper border too: compare the lower and upper borders
on the right end. I do not know how to get the color out, but a dry cleaner
or rug dealer may be able to advise you. Or perhaps you will decide it adds
character. This piece measures 2'5" x 7' (74 x 213 cm) and costs $330.
SOLD
This is Anaya Bou Said Ali and she made the two rugs below. Her husband is a farmer and they have nine children, all of them still living at home. An older son is in charge of the electricity generator for the village; one night he left it on an hour late for us because we needed to charge our photo equipment. Four of the children are daughters, and they helped her with the rugs below. If the rugs sell she would buy wool to make more, and food for the family. She thought there would probably be no money left beyond that, but if there were she would buy clothes for her daughters.
Piece 3.13639 is a small narrow pile rug that could be used as a runner. It has five central panels and two large borders, with the main colors a rich red, dark blue and black. Notice how the design has similar elements to the rug above. There are accents in orange, gray, and a bit of pale sage, seen best in this detail. The size is about 2'4" x 5'4" (71 x 162 cm) and it costs $205. SOLD
Piece 3.13642 is another of the "picture" rugs, with pile and flatweave sections. The soft colors are a dusty rose and a denim blue, with accents in a soft rusty orange, white, and a bit of light green at the left end. There is "embroidery" in the flatweave panels, and you can see how fine it is in this close-up. This piece measures about 3'8" x 7' (112 x 213 cm) and the price is $470.
The rug below was made by Rahma Elhakimi, who did not want to be photographed. Her husband buys and sells livestock, and they have two sons and two daughters. Two of the children are in school, and the other two are still too young.
Piece 3.13644 is a medium rug in the Glawa style, meaning it has three different kinds of weaving. Here the plain pink and blue stripes are flatweave, the center and side panels and borders with designs are in pile, and the black and white designs you see at the top right in this detail are made by twining. Accent colors are a rusty gold and sage green. The size is 3'6" x 6'11" (107 x 211 cm) and the cost is $405.
This is Fatima Jazouli, whose work you have seen before. She made the red and black man's cape that you saw earlier in these pages. She is married, and when I asked what her husband did, she said he "sits in the sun" (and waits for money). In fact he has a little land and farms if there is enough water. His two sons from a previous marriage live with them and they help out with farming and herding sheep. She has four daughters, three in school and one out. If this rug sells she will use the money to buy flour, sugar and tea - the basic food supplies. If there is any left over, the girls want new clothes. For herself, she would like to buy something like dishes or clothing from the traveling peddler when he comes through.
Piece 3.13646 is an older pile rug in the Tazenakht style. It has three central panels and five large borders, some separated by thinner ones as seen in this detail. The main color is a cherry red, but there are smaller amounts of white, orange, bright olive green, gray and a nice blue in the border. It measures 3'11" x 7'3" (119 x 222 cm) and costs $410.
