Iconic Antique Beni Ouarain Berber Rug
This example displays an extremely unusual design by any standards, where three sections divide the pattern with considerable variation between them. An important Austrian private collection published it many years ago, making it iconic as it inspired countless contemporary reproductions woven in Morocco. It ranks among the earliest Beni Ouarain carpets on the market, and this fact, coupled with its unique almost ‘calligraphic’ design, allows us to confidently classify it as a piece of Museum quality.
Seventeen tribes form the Beni Ouarain confederation, inhabiting the high mountain region of the northeastern Middle Atlas. Their rugs stand out from other Berber weavings because weavers create them almost exclusively on ivory backgrounds and decorate them with abstract geometric motifs using undyed natural brown/black wool. Typically, an all-over grid of lozenges with little or no variation composes the pattern.