Shadoui

A Magnificent flat woven rug or Shadoui from the Jbel Siroua range, in the Moroccan southwest. Made entirely of natural undyed black and white wool. Originally used as saddlebags or riding blankets by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite.

Among the very characteristic pieces from this group there are this flatwoven striped textiles that in the local Berber dialect are called -lahmal i shadoui-. The weft-twining technique used for the weaving of these wool blankets, though certain examples may mix wool and goat hair for decoration, is called -shadaoui- and it can barely be found anywhere else in Morocco. True ethnic elegance, as this one. 

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Magnificent saddle blanket -Shadoui- from Jbel Siroua, in southwestern Morocco. Specifically from the Berber group of Aït Mzangan, belonging to the confederation of the Aït Ouaouazguite. Made entirely of natural wool, white and black without dyeing for the stripes, and natural dyes for the symbols. Masterfully crafted, features an extraordinary definition of its designs. Without a doubt a collector's item.

Originally used as saddlebags or horse blankets by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite, these flat weaves, which in the local Berber dialect are known as -lahmal i shadoui-, employ the technique known as -shadoui-, that is, weaving the weft over the warp in a characteristic way that, in a certain way, resembles embroidery despite being woven and decorated with black and white stripes, sometimes also mixed with goat hair, which they call Zanafi. This technique is very rare to find anywhere else in Morocco.

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A fancy flat woven rug or Shadoui from the Jbel Siroua range, in the Moroccan southwest. Made entirely of natural white and brown undyed wool, and orange of vegetal dye. Originally used as saddlebags or riding blankets by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite.

Among the very characteristic pieces from this group there are this flatwoven striped textiles that in the local Berber dialect are called -lahmal i shadoui-. The weft-twining technique used for the weaving of these wool blankets, though certain examples may mix wool and goat hair for decoration, is called -shadaoui- and it can barely be found anywhere else in Morocco. True ethnic elegance, as this one. 

A beautiful flat woven rug or Shadoui from Jbel Siroua, in the Moroccan southwest. Originally used as a saddlebag or riding blanket by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite. Made entirely of natural white and black undyed wool and red of vegetable dyes, mixed with goat hair, which makes it specially strong and durable

Spectacular flat woven rug or Shadoui from the Jbel Siroua range, in the Moroccan southwest. Made entirely of natural undyed brown and white wool. Originally used as saddlebags or riding blankets by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite.

Among the very characteristic pieces from this group there are this flatwoven striped textiles that in the local Berber dialect are called -lahmal i shadoui-. The weft-twining technique used for the weaving of these wool blankets, though certain examples may mix wool and goat hair for decoration, is called -shadaoui- and it can barely be found anywhere else in Morocco. True ethnic elegance.

A Magnificent flat woven rug or Shadoui from the Jbel Siroua range, in the Moroccan southwest. Made entirely of natural undyed black and white wool. Originally used as saddlebags or riding blankets by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite.

Among the very characteristic pieces from this group there are this flatwoven striped textiles that in the local Berber dialect are called -lahmal i shadoui-. The weft-twining technique used for the weaving of these wool blankets, though certain examples may mix wool and goat hair for decoration, is called -shadaoui- and it can barely be found anywhere else in Morocco. True ethnic elegance, as this one. 

A beautiful flat woven rug or Shadoui from Jbel Siroua, in the Moroccan southwest. Originally used as a saddlebag or riding blanket by members of the Berber tribe Aït Ouaouazguite. Made entirely of natural white, black, grey and brown undyed wool and red of vegetable dyes, mixed with goat hair, which makes it specially strong and durable.

Yet another gorgeous example of the creativity and skill of the female weavers of the Jbel Siroua region in southwestern Morocco is this unique piece locally called Shadoui and used as a saddlebag or as a riding blanket. It is made of undyed natural color wool in the range of white to brown and vegetal colored decorated fringes. It combines the flat fabric of the base with the knotting of the horizontal stripes. Authentic collector piece!

A handmade artisan Berber flatwoven wool blanket or -shadoui- from the Berber group of the Aït Ouaouzguite inhabiting the region of the extinct volcano of the Siroua between the Moroccan High and Middle Atlas mountain range. Among the very characteristic pieces from this group there are this flatwoven striped blankets that in the local Berber dialect are called -lahmal i shadoui-. The weft-twining technique used for the weawing of these wool blankets, though certain examples such as those coming from the Aït Ouarda may mix wool and cotton for decoration, is called -shadaoui- and it can barely found anywhere else in Morocco. True ethnic textile treasures. 

The textiles from the different Berber sub-goups of the Aït Ouaouzguite Confederation in the region of the Siroua between the Moroccan High and Anti Atlas mountain ranges, such as the Aït Ouarda, the Aït Tamassine, the Aït Ameur, the Aït Khezama, the Ait Oubial or the Aït Abdallah, are traditionally among the most reputed in Morocco. To that end contribute not only the quality of the materials employed, the dexterity of the artisan weavers but also the originality of the techniques used in their flatwoven textiles such as capes or –akhnif- or bags and shepperd and mount blankets –shadoui-, -l´rhomd- or -adil-. For their knotted piled rugs they commonly use the so-called symmetric knot and local sheep wool. In earliest examples the predominant colours are natural undyed white, cream, brown and black sheep wool. Natural black wool is still very highly esteemed due to the top quality of that wool coming from a local sheep breed and because according to Berber’s beliefs it is very effective to ward off evil eye and other bad influences. In not that old examples the colour palette is wider. As to decorative patterns those are clearly tribal though we can find sometimes some resemblance with those found in city examples from Rabat or Salé. That has very much to do with the old and long-lasting links between the Jewish communities of those cities and Aït Ouaouzguite’s ones. When it comes to flatwoven textiles the degrees of quality, originality and excellency are certainly outstanding, particularly among the Aït Ouarda and the Aït Tamassine, being the combination of white and black stripes of different width  and the use of the –shadaoui- or  weft-twining technique some of the more remarkable features. True pieces of tribal art at its best not to be missed.