Women Weavers OnLine
N'kob
This is Najat Danine, who made the rug below. She has been weaving since she was small, about ten years old. She is married and has two daughters who are seven and four. Her husband works as a carpenter or in construction in the larger town of Ouarzazate. She was born in N'kob, grew up in Ouarzazate, and is now living in N'kob again. However, her husband is building the family a house in Ouarzazate, and that is where her weaving earnings go. If this rug sells she will get a bit of the money herself and use it to buy gold earrings, or for clothing for her daughters.
Piece 3.13340 is a small pile rug in the Glawa style, which means it has three kinds of weaving. The borders and center design panels are knotted, the plain red and blue stripes are flatweave, and the black and white design areas are made by a technique called twining. In the close-up you can see the twining above Najat's thumb. The main colors are rich red and navy blue, with accents in white, orange, and a bit of dark green which you can see near Najat's fingertips and around the white diamond on the close-up. The size is about 3'3" x 4'2" (69 x 127 cm) and it costs $135.
This is Fadma Bouhassi, who you have met earlier in these pages (although this is a new photo). She is one of N'kob's two women leaders. The other is Aicha Seqqat, whom you have also met. They have more connections: Aicha is Fadma's maternal aunt, and two of Aicha's sons are married to two of Fadma's daughters. Fadma has four sons and four daughters, with the oldest daughters married and the youngest about two years old. The other daughter still at home passed fifth grade last year and is now learning to weave. All the sons are in school; the oldest is eleven and in the fifth grade. Fadma's husband works in construction or as an agricultural laborer, and she is a very productive weaver. When asked last summer, she said her increased income from Internet sales (she has made several) has made family finances less "tight" and allowed them to buy books so the children can remain in school. Her husband now gives her some of the rug money, and she uses it to buy clothes for herself.
Piece 3.13343 is a medium pile rug in the Tazenakht style with three main design panels, divided by two smaller symmetrical ones. The end panels have a black ground, while the center is in two shades of blue because Fadma ran out of yarn and could not match it exactly. The border appears to all have a dark blue ground, and the main designs are a rich red. It appears a bit of red has faded onto the white in the borders with washing, which you can see in this close-up. There is also a bit of olive green accent. The size is about 2'4" x 5'6" (71 x 167 cm) and the price is $185.
Piece
3.13345 is an unusual flatweave rug. Fadma says she's the only local weaver
who makes this style, and it was her own idea - and in fact, it involves recycling.
The basic yarn is natural gray, made by carding black and white wool together.
The recycling comes when Fadma cards in bits of colored wool left over from
other rugs. Notice how the right end of the rug has a yellow tint. You can see
it better in this detail, where you can also
see bits of red wool. The main design is dark red, and others contain blue,
green, gold and white. The size is about 2'2" x 5'8" (66 x 172 cm)
and it costs $170 . This piece has SOLD, but Fadma had nearly
finished another like it in October 2003, and if that sells you can probably
order another: Fadma is excellent at working to order, and has done a good job
at reproducing other pieces, as you can see from the last rug on this page.
Piece 3.13347 is quite different, showing Fadma's versatile skills. It is a small pile piece and has just one design on a plain ground with varied shades of pink. Fadma says she varied the pink on purpose; you can see it better in this detail. There you can also see the olive green inside and outlining the central medallion, whose main color is a pretty, muted denim blue. The size is about 2' x 3'4" (61 x 101 cm) and the price is $135.
Piece 3.13355 is a flatweave made by one of Fadma's daughters and has an "American southwest" look. It is a remake of piece 2.11429, which you can see earlier in the N'kob rug file. If you compare the two, you can see how good this family is at reproducing a rug they have made before. The design and colors are identical, as are the lengths, and only the width varies, with this one about 2 inches narrower. The design is gold on a rich red ground which becomes a bit orange-red toward the center. The central rectangle is a dark denim blue, nearly navy, and there is also blue and a little dark green in the woven designs, which you can see best on this detail. The designs at the ends are the kholala or jewelry fasteners that women used to use. This piece measures about 3'10" x 6'8" (117 x 228 cm) and costs $330.
