Our Tips for Buying your Vintage Berber Rug
Moroccan rugs – particularly one-of-a-kind treasures - are highly sought after and continue their run of popularity across most interior and home decor styles. Provided you pick the right rug. Because, along with their lively reputation has sadly come a slew of fakes, new rugs marketed as old ‘tribal’ pieces, low quality pieces, poor advice, and rugs that simply aren’t authentic. We care about this because old, honest Berber rugs - eccentric, artistically demanding carpets - deserve recognition and credit and their buyers deserve to know that what they are buying is credible and true
Age matters
The term vintage is these days widely used to describe a whole host of rugs. To us, it tends to mean trustworthy rugs dating from, say, before the 1990s. Other than that, and unless we know the family from whom we buy a rug, we try to be broad in our dating in order to be open and honest. The one thing we do know however is that if a rug is truly vintage or mid-century there is one important thing for you to to look for and to value and that is wear
An original rug that has been used in a Berber home or tent is likely to have marks, damage, henna stains, drops of candle wax, unravelling at the ends (the hardest parts to repair on a vintage rug are the ends and edges), and so on. Very old rugs are likely be well-worn, probably featuring plenty of restoration. Some of this might be quite basic : unlike the more well known and elaborate Turkish and Persian rugs, Berber carpets weren’t woven to be sold and until the C20th there was not any sort of demand for them outside of Morocco, therefore people patched up their own family rugs. Or a village restorer might work on them. In any case, restorations are often visible and moderate damage left as it is. Sun fading may be irregular or only in patches rather than across the full rug. So look for the original patina of a life well lived
Watch out for antique washes
In Morocco, there’s plenty of know-how on how to produce and sell ‘aged’ rugs, adjusted to the needs of the market. Woven in what are often termed cooperatives, nowadays hundreds of producers create new rugs that are washed, bashed about, faded with chemicals, raked and worked on to then be sold as old. Some producers have even started sourcing wool from outside of Morocco for these rugs as the demand is so high. They can be convincing and often only someone who really knows Berber rugs will be able to tell the truth from the copy
Look at the detail
How a rug has been constructed will tell you a lot. For example, whereas cotton and recycled textiles were certainly used as the base (weft) in old rural rugs, as wool was an expensive resource, they are now routinely used in new pieces that are created to be given a ‘vintage’ look. The simple reason is that this saves money and the mark up is greater. However years ago, women would have done all they could to use the best materials in the big and important rugs of the house
Tall tales about vegetable dyes ...
Synthetic dyes have been available in remote souks for decades, supplementing the natural dyes used by Berbers. In fact, even in the early 20th Century many women preferred manufactured and souk-bought dyes as they were much easier to work with. This means that natural dyes are far less common than you would think, and hundreds of rugs are now marketed as having natural dyes when they simply do not
Deep hues such as blue, aubergine, tangerine, and amber could be derived from natural sources and many years ago were widely used. In the cold north eastern regions the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco carpets were woven to reflect the neutral cream and brown hues of the natural wool of the family’s sheep. In the lower southern regions saffron and yellow hues were used a lot
However, faded baby pink, aqua, blush and light pastel tones were not widely used in authentic Berber carpets - often they are colours that have been introduced recently to cater to western tastes, and these rugs are then faded with chemicals to give them a older or sun touched look
Expertly woven rugs with a beautiful texture, plush wool and personal symbols aren't at all devalued because of the absence of natural dyes, in fact shimmering, saturated colour is a hallmark of Berber rugs and many of these wonderful hues could only have been achieved with high quality synthetic dyes
Understanding Berber culture
Many people without deep knowledge of Berber tribal life have entered the international trading markets. They tend to rely on the shops in the tourist centres in Morocco, such as Marrakech, Essouira or Fez, to supply stock and information. At times misunderstandings arise
One example is the Beni Ouarain rugs that have been in such great demand to the extent that ‘Beni Ouarain’ is now used as a byword for all Moroccan black and white rugs. But they are not the same. In fact, Beni Ouarain carpets were woven only by the Berbers of Morocco’s north-eastern Middle Atlas Mountains, and nearby neighbouring tribes. The Beni Ouarain are in fact a confederation of seventeen specific Berber tribes, who are believed to have been living in the region since as far back as the 9th century
And, while 'Beni' means ‘sons of’ and has been used for centuries for certain Berber and Arab tribes, even that word is commonly mis-attributed to create a romantic provenance for rugs. For example, there’s a town in the Middle Atlas mountains called Mrit. It’s wool trading area, and lots of new commercial rug weaving takes place there. Now, those new rugs from the area are being attributed to the 'Beni Mrit' – a tribe that has never existed
As so many rugs are now sourced in the souks of Marrakesh (very few people can really get out into the isolated Berber villages. It’s a tough, specialist activity and most local peoples only speak Berber or Arabic) it's becoming standard to attribute tribal rugs to the nearby High Atlas mountains. However, the thickest and most plush original rugs like Beni Ouarain and Beni Mguild pieces were woven far, far away from Marrakesh and rarely end up there, starting life in the cold mountains in the north east. Most of what is woven near to Marrakesh is woven quickly to sell to western buyers
Some tourist rug souks also have a tendency to date rugs as much older than they are. Genuine mid century Berber rugs are now really very rare so it's very common to see newer rugs sold as old
All this points to the need to seek out those with an intimate knowledge of Moroccan Berbers (the descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of Morocco and who refer to themselves by their indigenous name, Amazigh, meaning ‘free people’) and their history, and who know how and where the many different tribes wove
Genuinely old rugs have a lasting value
Availability of old rugs is naturally limited, and the demand of the past few years has visibly reduced the supply. Vintage ones are becoming scarce and more expensive. Good pieces might enjoy strong price increases in the future
An old piece is likely to have a spontaneous and archaic, or a very detailed and intricate, design often featuring irregularities and special touches added by the weaver just for her own personal taste. The oldest Berber rugs tend to be narrow to suit the dimensions of a Berber home or as a sleeping rug, and because traditional old weaving looms only accommodated relatively narrow, but long, rugs. Large square shaped rugs are a more modern invention
A carpet woven by a woman for her own use would have been crafted with great care and pride, using the best wool she could afford, and woven for the practicalities of her everyday life. A good rug was made from good resources and it was woven to last a lifetime
An authentic Moroccan textile specialist will know the local marketplace and will venture deep into Berber territory to where genuine old rugs can be found. In my long experience, that is out in the cold mountains and villages and on the plains of rural Morocco
At Maroc Tribal we are happy to offer genuine and gorgeous pieces to clients worldwide. As a Moroccan of both Arab and Berber decent myself, it's my privilege to share my culture and history, exploring Berber traditions and immersing myself in the often mysterious world of Berber textiles
Always feel free to ask us as many questions you like!
Mo x
PS. People often ask us who else we think has a great take on the world of Berber rugs. For my part, I've always admired Berber Arts
