Beniourain Rugs

The traditional style and patterns of the Beni Ouarain rugs consists of mostly geometric black or brown lines that create abstract and diamond shapes on a cream or whitish background. The rugs are handwoven and can last a lifetime if not more.

Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright, Marcel Breuer and Arne Jacobsen, already knew of the beauty of the Beni Ourain.

From the mid-century Modernists to now, they have stood the test of time.

The Beni Ourain is a group of Moroccan people that is actually comprised of seventeen different Berber tribes, all of whom hail from the country’s Atlas mountain range. Morocco has a long history of weaving some of the most beautiful rugs in the world.
The ancient weaving started before the 7th Century with the Berber tribe of North Africa who settled in Morocco. As semi-nomadic people, the Beni Ourain are primarily shepherds and goatherds who have historically raised their livestock high in the mountains, moving with their herds from one graze land to the next.

For thousands of years, the women of the tribe have woven exquisite hand knotted wool rugs inspired by tribal ceremony and symbolism. The Berber tribe still exists today, living in the Atlas mountain regions, where the ancient weaving techniques are preserved and passed down from mother to daughter.

Usually, the design were created as references to natural events and aspects of daily life such as birth, fertility, nature, femininity, rural life, beliefs and / or spirituality or even ward off evil spirits.