Editorial
The editorial section shows a collection of articles that I wrote over the years for various magazines and museum publications. Furthermore, there are a few more articles by friends of mine or links to articles that I find helpful or interesting to deepen the understanding of the traditional and contemporary weaving culture in North Africa in general and the Moroccan Berber rugs and textiles in particular.
Maghreb Mastery
Master weaver culture in the Maghreb, with a special focus on the Moroccan Middle Atlas, Eastern Morocco and the Algerian Jebel Amour region.
Conversation pieces
How urban models, regional traditions, and male and female master weavers shaped Moroccan rug designs over time.
Algerian Jebel Amour rug
The construction, function and cross-cultural influences of a rare Jebel Amour rug from the high plateaus of Algeria.
Striking Simplicity
Rare types of minimal Moroccan kilims from the Middle Atlas, the region around Boujad and Beni Mellal, the Ourika valley and the Anti-Atlas.
An Infinity of Stripes
The striped haiks and shawls of the Ait Moussa in the southern Anti-Atlas, woven in natural wool for everyday and ceremonial use.
(Late) Moroccan Animal Rugs
Animal motifs in Moroccan rugs, from domesticated livestock rooted in everyday life to lions as symbols of strength and power.
Striped Stars
An overview of Ait Ouaouzguite flat-weaves, their techniques, uses and regional traditions around Jebel Siroua in southern Morocco.
An Adolescent Market Grows Up
The rise of the international market for Moroccan Berber rugs, from a small niche to a global boom, and the growing role of new production.
High Times in the High Atlas
The little-documented history and recent development of pile rugs from Azilal province and the Ourika valley in the central High Atlas.
Art Piece: Boucherouite – Morocco and the Rest of the World
Boucherouite rugs made by Moroccan women from discarded textiles, combining new materials with the vocabulary of traditional Berber weaving.
post punk pink
The second catalogue devoted to Moroccan boucherouite rugs, with essays on their seemingly chaotic abstractions and their place within Berber textile culture.
Wild, Not Wooly, Berber Rugs
An exhibition of Moroccan boucherouite rugs at Cavin-Morris Gallery, showing how an ancient craft developed a postmodern style.
boucherouite rag rugs
The first catalogue devoted to Moroccan boucherouite rugs, tracing how traditional wool was replaced by worn clothing, synthetic fibres and other recycled materials.
Berber veils
Henna-painted Berber veils from the Beni Ouarain (Ahel Telt) and the Ait Haddidou, and the challenges of establishing their authenticity.
antique moroccan rugs
A broad survey of Morocco's rural weaving culture, from the urban carpets of Rabat to the tribal rugs of the Middle Atlas and beyond.
Earth and Moon
A previously unrecorded group of boldly patterned kilims from the Ourika Valley, traced through their motifs, techniques and domestic uses.
Tabrdouhte & Tabbnoute
Indigo-dyed tabrdouhte and tabbnoute shawls from the eastern Middle Atlas, and the influence of travelling Jewish dyers on Berber textile culture.
White Giants: Beni Ouarain
White-ground Berber rugs from the Beni Ouarain and neighbouring tribes in the Middle Atlas, Morocco.
Linguistics and Cultural Technology: The Example of the Vertical Berber Loom
A French-language study of the terminology, construction and cultural meanings of the vertical loom used by Berber-speaking women across North Africa.
