In some ways, this rug is a moderate thing. It hails from the middle of the twentieth century. The Beni Ourain tribespeople who wove it made Morocco’s Middle Atlas their home.
Yet in other respects, it is extreme.
Its pile is two full inches thick. It weighs an immense 70 pounds and when rolled, has the bulk of a linebacker.
It is also exceedingly beautiful in its simplicity.
Undyed Geometry
The rug’s palette is of undyed sheep’s wool in natural ivory and chocolate brown hues.
At center is a column of diamonds, flanked by smaller lozenge motifs. The patterns are as simplistic as they are classical for the type.
Woven for Comfort and Warmth
Beni Ourain rugs—the genuine vintage kind of which this is a prime example—are practical articles.
The mountain wool is hand-twisted and thick-knotted—a different species from the coarse wool loosely spun by machines and used in the newly made Beni Ourain of today. Press your hand into the springy pile and feel the fibers bounce back.
At the time when this rug was made, the Beni Ourain wove smaller pieces as bed covers and shawls. Larger rugs served as barriers against the cold damp of earthen floors. More generous, room-sized pieces such as this remain rare.
All share the same fundamental qualities.
Ancient Forms and Modernity
Le Corbusier fell for the geometry of Berber rugs as early as 1924, and Frank Lloyd Wright used a Beni Ourain in his crowning residential masterwork, Fallingwater. That iconic home on Bear’s Run is defined by its bold, formal clarity and the connection it facilities between nature and interior space.
So too does a Beni Ourain rug.
