Women Weavers OnLine
N'kob
This is Rqia Ait Abdella and she made the rug you see here and below. She is about twenty, and lives with her parents and three brothers. She also has four married sisters and two married brothers. Her family lives from farming, raising sheep, and weaving. She said her only "school" was weaving rugs. She made this large one by herself in about two months.
Piece 3.13587 is a large pile rug with a clearly drawn design in five central panels and four large borders, quite a complex piece. And I haven't seen any of these women working from a drawing - as one said "It's all in my head!" The central panel is on a black ground, while the ends are on a denim blue, with designs in white, blue-red, bright orange and some gray. You can see all these colors in this close-up. This piece measures about 5'1" x 8'2" (154 x 249 cm) and costs $510.
This is Aicha Aznug Ait Omar. She's married and has one daughter and five sons who range in age from thirty to six. Her husband is a shepherd. She made the rug below by herself when she was younger, about 20 years ago, and it took her three months to do.
Piece 3.13590 is an older medium pile rug in the Tazenakht style with an unusually fine weave and subdued colors. In fact, I left the mountains in the background in this photo because I think they echo the colors in the rug. Click the photo to see if you agree. The center panel is on dark blue and the ends on black, with a gray central diamond and designs in a blue-red and orange. On the close-up you can see the kholala or jewelry fastener designs very finely drawn above Aicha's hand. You can also see that some orange has run into the white on the diamond, but it is not very noticable, as you can see on the photo of the full rug. The size of this rug is about 3'6" x 7'2" (107 x 219 cm) and the price is $600.
This is Fatima Aznug Ait Mbarek who made the rug below. She has four daughters and one son, but made the rug by herself because her daughters are still young. It took her three months because, with young children, she also has a lot of housework. Her husband works as a shepherd, an agricultural laborer, and buys and sells sheep.
Piece 3.13593 is a medium pile rug in the Glawa style with a bit of black and white twining bordering the five central panels, an unusual and attractive configuration. You can see the twining under the thumb in this detail. The colors are a dark navy blue, bright orange and rosy red. The red or orange has run into the white in the central diamond, which you can see on the detail, but it is not too distracting. This piece measures about 3'5" x 7' (104 x 213 cm) and costs $600.
