Textiles

A handmade Berber flatwoven rug or -hanbel- from the area of Azrou in Morocco. Wool and cotton. It is an oustanding example that also features a wonderful, dense and intricate decoration that combines many traditional Berber motifs.  Superb.

A handmade flatwoven rug or -hanbel- from the Berber tribe of the Zemmour. The Zemmour inhabit areas of the Middle Atlas mountain range in Morocco. Their flatwoven textiles are among the most reputed ones in Morocco. That is attributable not only to the quality of the materials, wool and cotton, but also to their skill, their beautiful use of reds and the vast variety of horizontal and vertical decorative motifs used that evidence the amazingly rich Berber symbology combining male, female and life elements. Very decorative and true pieces of art.

A handmade flatwoven rug or -hanbel- from the Berber tribe of the Zemmour. The Zemmour inhabit areas of the Middle Atlas mountain range in Morocco. Their flatwoven textiles are among the most reputed ones in Morocco. That is attributable not only to the quality of the materials, wool and cotton, but also to their skill and the vast variety of horizontal and vertical decorative motifs used that evidence the amazingly rich Berber symbology combining male, female and life elements. Very decorative and true pieces of art.

The area where the Marmoucha Berber clan, belonging to the larger Zenaga group, is not far from the imperial Moroccan city of Fes in the southern Middle Atlas. The Marmoucha are neighbours of the Beni Ouarain and that is why some of their pieces remind sometimes of the patterns and designs from the latter. Their flatweaves usually are rich in colors and tend to be quite bright and dense. The use of diamond or lozenge strings lattice of narrow black lines circling white squares is a typical old Marmoucha motif. In their knotted rugs they usually use the so-called Berber knot. 

A lovely cushion made from a fragment of bogolan Indigo vintage from Mali, and new natural cotton by the other side. interlining for more resistance.

Filling not included.

Great cushion made with remnants of an antique stunning Berber Jaique of undyed natural wool. The reverse is made of high quality rustic natural cotton which gives it a perfect consistency also to be used as a floor cushion. Zip closure. Filling not included.

A Berber haïk or shawl from M´Tougha in the Moroccan High Atlas. Handmade. Woven natural undyed wool. The combination of browns and creams as well as the distribution of the stripes are magnificent and grant it an elegant and authentic tribal character. A -haïk-, -hayk-, -haik- or -tahraoukht-, is an outer garment used by the different Berber tribes as part of their attire.

A fantastic cotton fabric dyed with natural indigo by the method of reserve, batik or madiba. Dogon women would use it as a skirt or shawl. It is made of cotton strips or bands handwoven on the traditional narrow and hanging looms. Subsequently, these bands are sewn together and are dyed achieving spectacular designs that are full of meaning for the local culture. Against the evil eye, good luck, fertility, good harvest, rain, etc.

This is an authentic tribal garment which has been used in a rural environment so it may show imperfections and remarkable signs of wear. Although, from our point of view this doesn’t alter its beauty at all, but we recommend taking this in mind when deciding your purchase. Likewise having been dyed with natural indigo it must be washed by hand, limiting the time in contact with water to the minimum essential and taking care that during drying the piece is well extended.

Bogolan textiles are amongst the most interesting textiles from Western Africa. Their amazingly avant-garde design should not make us think that we are in front of a recent evolution of African art but we are rather facing an ancient craft. The name would come from the Bambara language and linked to the use quite often of mud in the process of making. The variety of designs is almost endless. It is made from narrow strips of cotton woven by dexterous artisans, which are then sewn together to make larger pieces of cloth. Those are then dyed and decorated in a serie of different stages using natural substances. True pieces of tribal art not to be missed.  

Melfa is the traditional Mauritanian veil or tissue that women wear around their bodies. This batik dyed cotton textiles feature wonderful designs with vibrant colours that recall the firmament.

This size will suit perfectly as pareo or shawl, also as curtain, wall deco, over the table, etc

Melfa is the traditional Mauritanian veil or tissue that women wear around their bodies. This batik dyed cotton textiles feature wonderful designs with vibrant colours that recall the firmament.

This size will suit perfectly as pareo or shawl, also as curtain, wall deco, over the table, etc

Melfa is the traditional Mauritanian veil or tissue that women wear around their bodies. This batik dyed cotton textiles feature wonderful designs with vibrant colours that recall the firmament.

This size will suit perfectly as pareo or shawl, also as curtain, wall deco, over the table, etc

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

For many Kuba textiles are amongst the most appealing African textiles. They are raffia cut-pile cloths, very often artistically embroidered and further enriched with tight tufting that somehow reminds of -raffia- velvet. They show a great variety of designs mainly geometrical. Used by men as skirts they were symbols of status and, as such, highly esteemed.

A vibrant and captivating artisan flatwoven rug (hanbel) from Morocco. It has been made using the boucherouite technique, that is, using bits of different pieces of materials (wool, cotton, etc) of bright colors to this pop result. So nice and soft.

The handmade artisan knotted rugs from the Valley of the Ourika to the south of the imperial city of Marrakech and on the northern slopes of Moroccan High Atlas are particularly appealing. They are meant as true decoration pieces to cover the floor. They use the symmetrical knot, undyed natural wool and fragments of other textiles of vivid colors (cotton threads, etc) for the knots and, often, for the making of the warp and weft. Those latter materials with the bright colours contribute to the awesome final result that recalls modern pieces of abstract art. However, the decorative motifs are a tribute to the ancient, vast and rich Berber iconography and simbology such as the use of the lozenge as a reference to the woman's womb and to the eye as a powerful means to ward-off evil, of the zig-zag line as a masculine element. True pieces of ethnic art.

A Berber hanbel from Zaer-Zemmour region in the Moroccan Middle Atlas. The textiles from tid region are reputed for their quality, design, the richness of their palette and the dense decorative motifs using lozenges and zig zag lines. Hand flatwoven -hanbel- in wool and cotton.

A handmade artisan flatwoven rug or -hanbel- from the Berber group of the Zaïan. The Zaïan inhabit certain areas of the Moroccan Middle Atlas mountain range. Their textiles are well-renowned for their outstanding quality and design as well as for it rich use of colors, combining wool and cotton. The outcome is very often espectacular and a real pleasure for the eye.

Beni Mrirt or Beni M'Rirt handmade artisan flatwoven rugs and blankets are woven in the Moroccan region of the same name in the Middle Atlas mountain range. In their making the Beni Mrirt artisans show their mastery in the weaving of wool and cotton as well as an oustanding creativity in the dense and intricate decoration combining traditional Berber motifs full of meanings. This one in stunning colors is full of character and extremely decorative piece.

Beni Mrirt or Beni M'Rirt handmade artisan flatwoven rugs and blankets are woven in the Moroccan region of the same name in the Middle Atlas mountain range. In their making the Beni Mrirt artisans show their mastery in the weaving of wool and cotton as well as an oustanding creativity in the dense and intricate decoration combining traditional Berber motifs full of meanings. This one in black and white is a full of character and extremely decorative piece.

The area where the Marmoucha Berber clan, belonging to the larger Zenata group, is not far from the imperial Moroccan city of Fes in the southern Middle Atlas. The Marmoucha are neighbours of the Beni Ouarain and that is why some of their pieces remind sometimes of the patterns and designs from the latter. Their flatweaves usually are rich in colors and tend to be quite bright and dense. In their knotted woollen rugs, as this particular example, they usually use the so-called Berber knot and in this case short/medium pile.

An outstanding handmade Berber rug from Talsint in Figuig, one of the eastern provinces of Morocco. Hand-knotted using wool of a variety of lovely colors. The outcome is as joyful as you can see. A rug that is full of character.

A lovely cushion made from a fragment of bogolan Indigo vintage from Mali, and new natural linen by the other side. interlining for more resistance.

Filling not included.

A lovely cushion made from a fragment of a handiras.  A woman's shawl, the -handira- from the High Atlas, though the use of these capes has extended to some areas of the High Atlas as well. It combines handwoven natural undyed wool and cotton. It features very distinctive decorative stripes and long cotton fringes or pile. Distinctive sequins on cotton threads have been added. Nowadays it would be used during special gatherings and festivities where the women, dancing together, make a magical sound by ratling their jewellery and the sequins themselves!. 

Filling not included.

A fantastic cotton fabric dyed with natural indigo by the method of reserve, batik or madiba. Dogon women would use it as a skirt or shawl. It is made of cotton strips or bands handwoven on the traditional narrow and hanging looms. Subsequently, these bands are sewn together and are dyed achieving spectacular designs that are full of meaning for the local culture. Against the evil eye, good luck, fertility, good harvest, rain, etc.

The cultivation and weaving of cotton travels back more than a thousand years in the history of Mali, as well as the techniques for the processing and dying with indigo, which in this region grows wild (Indigofera Arrecta) and is also cultivated. Archaeological excavations at the Bandiagara Escarpment (Mali) in the last century’s decade of the 60’s unearthed remnants of indigo-dyed cotton fabrics dating from the 10th to 12th centuries whose manufacture and motifs are practically the same as those found nowadays. These findings are attributed to the already extinct Tellem people who were replaced by the Dogons who would have inherited the knowledge and technology to produce such fabrics.

This is an authentic tribal garment which has been used in a rural environment so it may show imperfections and remarkable signs of wear. Although, from our point of view this doesn’t alter its beauty at all, but we recommend taking this in mind when deciding your purchase. Likewise having been dyed with natural indigo it must be washed by hand, limiting the time in contact with water to the minimum essential and taking care that during drying the piece is well extended.

A newly hand-made Berber knotted one hundred per cent undyed wool rug from the tribe of the Beni Ouaraïn inhabiting the Western part of the Moroccan Middle Atlas mountain range. Their long pile and silky touch rugs have become well-known worldwide for the use of the very characteristic so-called -Berber knot- on two or three warp threads, the lovely cream palette of the natural undyed wool used, their usually plain or lozenge-based decoration and their thickness. That latter is no doubt attributable to the fact that it would have served as a mattress for the family to withstand the freezing cold winter nights at the Atlas and then turned over onto the other side during the summer. Black design.

A lovely wrap or pareo (pagne) from the Baulé of Ivory Coast. This is a 100% handmade garment woven by the Baulé using traditional hanging looms and techniques dating back to the Xth century. The final cloth is made by sewing together about 9 to 11 indigo dyed thin cotton bands. Then embroided zoomorphic and antropomorphic motivs sewn with vivid colors which will provide protection and good will to the wearer. Truly beautiful.

This one is a vintage example that has been chosen due to its authenticity and beauty. It is in a reasonable good state even though it may show some slight spots or minor unstitches that only add to its captivating and undeniable charm.

A Mauritanian wowen reed mat from the Sahara Desert and the Sahel. It features a beautiful decoration made of strips of leather forming geometrical patterns. They are commonly used as screens, as a dividers or as a mats. Very decorative.

A floor cushion made from selected fragments of an old Berber handira from the Zemmour tribe. A handira is a woman's shawl or cape worn by some Moroccan Berber tribes. They are usually handwoven with natural undyed wool and cotton and sometimes they are ornated with sequins and long fringes. Nowadays they are used during special gatherings and festivities. The Zemmour inhabit areas of the Middle Atlas mountain range in Morocco. Their flatwoven textiles are among the most reputed ones in Morocco. That is attributable not only to the quality of the materials but also to their skill and the vast variety of horizontal and vertical decorative motifs used.  Filling not included.

A floor cushion made from fragments of Boucherouite Moroccan Berber textiles. Boucherouite or Boucherwit textiles are a true aesthetic experience. From the Moroccan arabic - bu sherwit- for pre-used textile remnant or rag ,they are modern abstract pieces of art. The materials used in these hand-made artisan textiles are diverse, new and recycled, from cotton or wool to synthetic fibres. Filling not included.

Cojín de la tribu bereber de los Zaïan. El grupo de los Zaïan habita en áreas del Atlas Medio marroquí y sus textiles son conocidos tanto por su calidad y diseño como por su riqueza cromática. Tejido plano o -hambel- de lana y algodón artesanal realizado a mano. Alegre y muy decorativo.    

Relleno no incluido.

A lovely cushion made from a fragment of bogolan Indigo vintage from Mali, and new natural linen by the other side. interlining for more resistance.

Filling not included.