Marrakesh Express
Small and Medium Rugs and Capes
Reminder: All prices include insurance and shipping via Priority Mail inside the US. For other locations, email me about shipping costs.
Piece 0.051548 is a pink-beige with greenish-brown undertones,
and fine white designs. It almost looks like there are woven designs dyed-over
in some areas, so there’s a faint texture but not a color difference,
although in a few places the pine tree design seems to have a darker shadow
next to it. You see this better in artificial than in natural light. It is wool
with a red cotton warp or base which gives it the pinky tint, and has white
cotton in the design. You can see the color in this overview.
It measures 4’1” x 7’9” and costs $355.
Piece 3.13111 is a small Zemmour style rug in design, but the rich blue color replacing the usual red ground is an innovation, perhaps for the Western market. The design stripes are traditional in form, and the red and white are traditional colors, but the soft gold in a shiny fiber is new, probably replacing the orange that some Westerners find too bright. You can see them better here. This piece measures about 2'3" x 3'7" (68 x 109cm) and the price is $75. SOLD - BUT so many people liked this that I have asked a friend in Khemisset to make me a similar one, so stay posted to see if I can get more.
Capes
Piece 3.13683 is a woman's cape from the Middle Atlas Mountains made of wool and nubby white cotton, with thin design stripes in black, white, rust and gold; click the photo to see them clearly. You can see the full piece here; don't worry about the dark areas, which are only shadows. There are a few pale spots that look like rust, almsot inevitable in older pieces, but they are not prominent. It is very finely-woven, as you can see from his close-up of the end fringe. That shows the thickness of the warp or lengthwise threads. This detail shows the back side, where the design stripes are covered by fringe, traditional in these pieces. The size is 3'10.5" x 5'10" (118 x 177cm) and the price is $145. This is SOLD, but I could shop for a similar one on request.
Piece 4.14476 is a black and white woman's cape with varied design stripes in white wool and cotton and black, which you can see by better clicking the photo. I like to see how far the design stripes go without repeating. Click here for an overview of the piece. I would use this on the floor in a low wear area, as a throw - or you could wear it. The wool is warm, but not heavy. The size is about 41 x 71 inches (104 x 180 cm) and the price is $165.
Piece 4.14011 is really unique. It's a wool cloak woven in the traditional akhnif style, in one color with a large "eye" on the back in another color. Tradiitonally these were black with a red "eye", but this is in a unisex natural beige with the eye in green. You can see a view from the back here, and a detail of the "eye" here. The last image shows the fineness of the work, and the colors also look more true on my screen. The green is not dull as it looks here, but lively. It is about 20 years old and costs $375. SOLD
Zemmour Rugs
Zemmour rugs are very popular on my site, perhaps because they are small and easy to fit into many styles of home, make unique gifts, and also because of the reasonable prices. The dollar has fallen about 15% in relation to Moroccan currency in the last year or so, so prices have gone up a bit, but are still reasonable. I have a large selection of these rugs right now, some similar to the one below in that the red is muted. In fact, this rug was ordered by so many people that it inspired me to buy more. I leave it on as an example.
Piece 3.13445 is a small Zemmour piece with traditional designs but rather different colors. The red is rusty rather than the usual deep rich shade, and the gold has a greenish tint, seen best in this close-up. This is an especially well-done piece in that the design stripes each have their own border.You can also see some abrash or color variation in the red: look to the right of the design stripe with "hourglalsses" near the center. The size is about 2'8" x 4'5" (81 x 135cm) and the price is $105. This is SOLD, but I have gotten so many requests for it, that I plan to buy several in these more rusty tones soon.
Beginning below are the new pieces I bought in the fall of 2004, with many trying to duplicate the muted tones of the piece above. Since all these items are handmade and usually one of a kind (though sometimes pairs are woven, as you will see below) I could not find an exact match. But explore the items below - perhaps you will like some better!
Piece 4.14532 is in a muted brick red with accents in black, white and a cumin/brown tone. It has no borders, and a calm pattern. You can see the pattern better in this detail. The size is about 26" x 51" (about 66 x 130 cm) and the price is $95. SOLD
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