Moroccan handicrafts the eternal return to nature

You must have seen him already or if not, you will see him soon: an elderly man, swathed in a voluminous gondura, hammering away at copper pots all day long, softening an unworkable skin or maybe polishing a piece of fine wood, a sweet-smelling cedartrunk, a hundred years old. Every line of this characteristic ace hides a secret, every muscle of this man’s body unfurls an idea. every movement exudes history. This is the Maalem, the Master, the Craftsman. He is the living source, the spiritual father of modern handicrafts, the « creator » of authentic Moroccan art.

it is thanks to him that the alchemy of popular art takes place, becoming plastic art, theatre and quite simply art whilst maintaining its true origins. On the contrary, handicrafts which are at the source of Moroccan art are also the generator of foreign currency which helps keep down unemployment. It employs 500.000 people, that is 7% of the working population and its products represent 5 % of exports. In 1980, 8385 tones of carpets mainly destined for West Germany, brought in 286 million Dirhams representing for that product alone. 3 % of the total export value, a quarter of the amount made by citrus fruit s that year. Needless to say handicrafts are far from disappearing from Morocco. where a special Ministry takes care of the future of this important economic sector that is so rich and varied, one of its finest master pieces being undoubted by its carpets.

The Moroccan carpet

“There where lies your carpet, lies your home ».
This saying contains a wealth of meaning. How many ages has it crossed and wl1ich continents has it flown, over before gent by settling at the tip of the ‘Maghreb’ ‘? There is a legend that tells’ at a bird that had flown from the middle east and one day dropped a few strands of multicoloured wool above a patio where some young weavers were gathered , They could not decide witch colour to use. So they used them all. Therefore the thick town carpets those are to be found today, contain the seven colours of the rainbow. However, this is only a legend whose sole aim is to attribute an origin to the famous Rabat carpet whose colours and patterns are in fact inspired by works from the Middle East and Asia Minor. The Rabat carpet is indeed a work of art.

The R’bati carpets

This is the supreme example of the classical Moroccan carpet: its characteristics are perfect symmetry and vividly contrasting colours : red, blue, green and brown command the centre of the carpet, detracting the attention from the strips of complimentary colours around the edges the delicate work of many nimble fingers, a treat to the eye and what comfort to the feet About fifteen, years ago, appeared in Fez a new variety of these city carpets : they contain more subtle shades and the greatest density of threads ever achieved in Morocco, more than 10 000 threads per square meter ! Quite a challenge, leading some people to compare these carpets, a Little too hastily, to Persian carpets.

Rural carpets

Another major group of Moroccan carpets is the rural or tribal carpets, which go back so far into time that it is not even possible to weave a legend around them. Every region, if not every tribe has its own sort. However, all these carpets, both thick and thin-pile, have a common trait: geometrical lines: broken lines, open angles, crosses, squares or lozanges.

The region where the most carpets are made is the Middle Atlas. Generally speaking, any carpet that is not r’bati is from the Middle Atlas. There are some exceptions however, such as the High Atlas carpet, the carpet made in the very deep southern regions, the carpet inspired by the Berbers or even the thick-pile carpet, natural coloured, white or brown, which is a delight to stand on with bare feet, because of the softness of the sheep ‘s wool.