An Adolescent Market Grows Up

From scarcity to market boom

If you look at the current European and American markets for old, authentic Moroccan Berber rugs, you could say that the market back in the late 1990’s was a relatively small niche market, which has passed through different periods of appreciation during the 20th century but has never become a mass market.

At the beginning of the 21st century, this niche suddenly became something for the majority, and it has attained international popularity at a speed that would have appeared impossible before. The last decade was definitely a boom phase with many highs and lows, as is usual between an easy going childhood and the later years of being grown-up.

Where is the market at today? Has it finally got past puberty? Where are the chances for the future and what do they look like?

A review

Before dealing with that, a brief review is needed: in the second half of the 19th century, the European bourgeoisie obtained access to oriental rugs and carpets, which were previously a privilege of the aristocracy, during the emerging colonialism and the resulting, improved trade routes. The rugs were appreciated due to their refined, foreign ornamentation, and the bourgeoisie interiors were rich and opulent.

With the first influences of modernity in the early 20th century, architects started to think about more simple concepts: Otto Wagner called for (and designed) carpets, which, on the one hand, were limited to supporting the colour concept of a room and, on the other, conveying the acoustic and haptic feeling of well-being in the room. After all, the ornament should serve to provide spatial zoning or create a kind of guide through the rooms.

Le Corbusier was just as radical when stating that rooms should be based on three pillars: an industrial, a cultural and an archaic component. Berber rugs provided the latter for him, which he appreciated because they (literally) ‘flicker on the floor’ (and should therefore create a feeling of comfort similar to that of sitting round a campfire). As a result of this, the Berber rugs experienced a certain amount of propagation in modernist architecture and the artistic avant-garde of the interwar period.

In the 1960’s, Morocco experienced a commercialisation of white Berber rugs with simplified designs and a robust structure with a woven cotton base adapted to use. This production stems from large manufacturing firms in Rabat and Salé, and they are still producing rugs in a pretty much unchanged form for the price-conscious furnishing market.

In addition to this, a niche market for old, authentic Berber rugs developed over a period of decades in the upmarket furnishing sector. Switzerland played a pioneering role here, where the room concepts developed in modern times were still being maintained, and where a few dealers have traded with Berber rugs since the 1930’s.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s a sort of collector scene developed for Moroccan rugs, above all in the USA, which focussed on a kind of Oriental ‘set of values’ with characteristics such as fineness, as old as possible, etc.

The market today

The current market has its roots in the early 1990’s, and was influenced decisively by the role models of classical modernity that was cultivated in the inventories and private collections of the Swiss dealers over the decades.

An apparently ‚modern‘ image, which can be seen above all in rugs from the Middle Atlas region and the Haouz plains to the west in the area surrounding Boujad, came to the fore. The desire for the unexpected, spontaneous supplanted the appreciation of the principles of order known from the Orient. The corporeity of the rug as a place to play within the living area replaced the desire for a visible status.

Thanks to a small but very focussed collector scene in Europe, a market and also an appreciation of eccentric, artistically demanding rugs and carpets developed. The following conferences, museum exhibitions, publications and their presence at high end art and antique fairs ensure additional attention.

And when the US market started to show an interest in the early 2000‘s for Moroccan rugs, and the dissemination of information and images via digital media started to increase in importance, rapid development ensued.

As was the case with the Iranian Gabbehs in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the rapidly rising demand could no longer be satisfied by the number of old rugs coming from the remote regions. The American market was also demanding the typical US ‚room-size‘ formats, which had never existed in the traditional nomadic and agricultural regions.

The rising demand was initially covered using manipulated older carpets and rugs, in which the stereotype and the less popular patterns were exchanged for more marketable ones. The manipulations were made unrecognisable using ‚antique washes‘, which were also appropriate for the market.

Following this, the know-how gained with these relatively simple forgeries was used by small, regional producers to create completely new kinds of rugs, the designs and formats of which were adjusted in line with the needs of the market. These adapted productions were still marketed as ‚old‘ and the term ‚vintage‘, which was coined in the US, established itself in the vocabulary of the international sector. This term was not very meaningful with regard to the actual age of the rugs, but it was meant to show that they came ‚from the time‘ when they were actually used by the ‚nomads‘.

These confusing terms were fostered even more by the fact that the strong development of digital media was opening up new sales channels that enabled laymen without any knowledge of the sector to enter the (international) trading markets.

Beni Ouarain in the desired format

A counter-movement started in the market when Jan Kath, who was followed by other producers, recognised the chances of manufacturing rugs with the characteristic high-pile white Beni Ouarain style ‚on demand‘ and in the desired format. For obvious reasons, it is impossible to market these pieces as ‚vintage‘, and Kath treated the dubious market methods in his own marketing activities with irony by actively marketing his Moroccan rugs with the label ‚21st century rugs‘.

Kaths ‚Le Maroc Blanc‘ collection won the Domotex ‚Carpet Design Award‘ in 2009 and 2014, which signalised as such a turnaround in the market: In the past few years, the scepticism towards Moroccan producers and dealers regarding the provision of honest age declarations has steadily made way for a new kind of self-confidence, which means own new designs and offers are being placed in the contemporary design carpets and rugs segment.

This may be related to the fact that the ‚gold rush‘ phase, in which in every Moroccan rug could be sold for a highly profitable price, is slowly but surely coming to an end.

This hype was fostered on the one hand by the fact that Berber had played a completely insignificant role for American dealers for a long time, above all because these rugs were hardly appreciated by the traditional dealers. From the beginning of the 2000’s, however, their presence in opinion-forming magazines like ‚Architectural Digest‘, ‚World of Interiors‘ and ‚Wallpaper‘ was increasing, and the demand from interior designers also promoted the willingness of dealers to look into this topic as quickly as possible. On the other hand, traditional dealers were pretty much being forced to establish on-site warehouses due to the increasing number of online offers from small startup companies.

The end of the boom?

At the moment the boom phase does however appear to be coming to an end, as can be seen in the small details and also with the appropriate market knowledge. Competitive pressure and a certain amount of oversupply in the market already appear to be so large, that a certain disengagement can be seen.

For example, a dubious Internet auction platform in the USA recently offered an alleged ‚collection‘ for sale, which, when looked at more closely, was obviously just excess stock from second or third rate dealers.

Evidence of this was that the goods included large quantities of newly-produced US ‚room-size‘ formats or mainly carpet types which have only cropped up on the Moroccan market in the last few years. Overall, dealer goods that would never find their way into a collection.

At the same time, an increasing number of sales promotions are taking place with individual dealers or trading platforms with price reductions of 30% to 50%, which was extremely rare over the past 15 years, especially in relation to Moroccan goods.

What’s more, prominent platforms like 1stdibs and some auction houses are trying to set themselves apart from the competition with an increasing amount of seriousness in relation to the designation of age details, which have often been very questionable in the past. Similar changes, such as increased accuracy on the one hand and more demanding pieces on the other – in connection with the willingness to pay more – above all in the higher quality segment, are clearly visible.

As a consequence of these developments, it can be observed in the Moroccan market that the strong demand for high quality, authentic old rugs and carpets over the past two years has led to clear price increases, on the one hand, while, on the other, the mid-range segment is increasingly coming under pressure, and the cheap segment would only appear to be sellable within a really tight price range at the moment.

New productions

In parallel to this, the area of new productions appears to be increasing in importance. As a pioneer in the highest quality segment, some examples like Jan Kath and his ‚Le Maroc Blanc‘ collection must be mentioned here, which has received the fair trade certification ‚Label Step‘ and links international knowhow with regional knowledge and traditional Berber handcraft.

Ironically, however, other important new producers have obtained their skills and aesthetic training during the many years of producing the best forgeries, and are now using these in the production of large formats as demanded by the market.

‚Fair trade‘ or comparable certifications are unknown to these manufacturers, just as they are to the producers of the rugs and carpets in the Beni-Ouarain style, which are common within the market nowadays and offered in a wide variety of price segments. Structures and hierarchies are common here, which follow regional traditions and are characterised by the local supply and demand for workers. Although this sector does not correspond with European or American ethical standards in many respects, it is definitely of significant economic importance for the country. The same applies for producers who have been manufacturing products in different styles for the tourism market for many decades.

In summary, the current situation in Morocco can definitely be described as dynamic. A market that was stuck in the waiting position for many decades, but over the past 10 to 15 years has received a virtual avalanche of recognition that it well deserves.

Some developments have happened so quickly that the ability to develop long-term, sustainable strategies will only emerge during an initial phase of slowing-down.

Authentic rugs and future supply

With regard to the real old or ‚vintage‘ carpets and rugs, the availability is naturally limited and the strong demand over the past few years has visibly reduced the supply. Good pieces will surely enjoy strong price increases in future, but the medium and above all low price segments will probably become less important when the boom is over.

The area of new productions will probably have the greatest opportunities in future, especially from a political economic perspective. Because Morocco – unlike all other carpet producing countries – still enjoys an extremely lively production of local, handmade rugs for, which rural people make for their own domestic use, a huge amount of potential exists that is globally unique, and which can represent an immeasurably valuable resource if used the right way. •