Women Weavers OnLine
N'kob
This is Anaya Zahiri, who made the rugs on this page. She is the sister of the mqaddam of N'kob, a local official who has been very helpful to the project. Her husband is a village farmer, and they have eight children, five boys and three girls. Anaya wove the rugs herself with the help of a daughter. Two of the rugs, pieces 2.13649 and 3. 13652, are older and she said the first was made in the 1960s. If her rugs sell, she will use the money to pay for household expenses.
Piece 3.12848 is a medium sized knotted Tazenakht rug. It has three main panels, the center a diamond on a dark denim blue, the ends black with designs in a rich blue-red. The rug also has five borders, three main ones and two narrow smaller ones. There are highlights in a shade of gold that is not very orange, and some gray, yellow-green and some gray-green that was once turquoise. You can see the fine designs better in this detail. This piece measures about 3'7" x 7' (109 x 213 cm) and the price is $415.
Piece 3.12850 is a pile rug in the Tazenakht style. The blue ground has abrash or color variation, and the designs at each end are like the suspended lamps in a mosque. Other colors are a grayed gold, a pinky cherry red, and a bit of yellow greeen. Notice the curved designs bordering the central diamonds, and the animal-like figures near them. You can see all this better in the detail. There are two clearly-drawn borders, the outer one a Tazehakht classic and the inner one a design found in antique Rabat rugs. This piece measures bout 3'6" x 8' (107 x 238 cm) and costs $475. SOLD
Piece 3. 13649 is older and bears a strong resemblance to piece 3.12850 above in both the soft colors and design. It has a darker blue ground with the design in rose, gold and white, and the wool has a nice sheen. The designs near each end are again like the suspended lamps or chandeliers at a mosque. In this detail you can see some abrash or color variation in the blue, and also that the red has run into the white a bit: compare the white at the lower left with that in the border. But it is not much, and gives a soft effect. This piece measures 3'3" x 5'6" (99 x 167 cm) and costs $890.
Piece 3.12856 is very unusual for N'kob. It is a flatweave in natural gray wool, made by spinning black and white together since there are no gray sheep. The designs scattered along the edges are in red and gold, with touches of dark and light denim blue and a bit of green. You can see them better in this close-up. The size is about 4'3" x 7' (130 x 213 cm) and the price is $585.
Piece 3.13652 is about 10 years old and has an unusual color scheme of black, white and gray, all done in natural, undyed wool. The design layout is also unusual for N'kob; I wish I had asked Anaya about the design's origin. It reminds me a bit of Central Asia, but where would she have seen such a rug? Sometimes Muslims bring them home from the pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca. She made it about 10 years ago. In the close-up it appears there may be a bit of pale pink in some of the white areas. One corner also does not lie flat, and a rug pad will help, but perhaps not flatten it totally. The size of this piece is about 4'8" x 8' (142 x 244 cm) and the price is $1590.
