On these, often very modest, households, the Berber women weave boucherouite rugs out of discarded scraps of material. A thousand scraps of cotton, nylon and occasionally wool are woven into these fabulous decorative berber rugs creations.
The contrast between the poverty of the materials used and the richness of the final composition adds to these awe-inspiring works of modern art.
Until recently these rag boucherouite rugs were of no commercial value, they were not even exposed by the souk shopkeepers, yet an interest has been born and has spread from Europe to the USA and Japan.
The sheer honesty of these artistic creations, their bright colours, their lyrical abstract movements and their modest prices are of great interest to the younger generation who appreciate their authenticity and aesthetic value.
These tapestries draw one into a visual dream world, where there are no pre-defined limits, where the suggested forms could continue to infinity beyond the frame.
We become stirred by such boucherouite rugs or « Boucharouette » in french, moved by the knowledge that they were never conceived as artwork, developed at the whim of its weaver and influenced by the buried memories of their ancestors. Each work has elevated, in a surprising manner, from its ethnic origins to reach an expression of universal beauty.
Contrary to most European weaving techniques, based on preconceived patterns; the Berber women weave through movement of their fingers, with no drawings or predefined designs, exactly as the different brushworks create a painting. This is how each “BOUCHEROUITE” tapestry becomes a unique work of art and how the limitless sensitivity of the berber women can be expressed with no premeditation.
The cultural influences of these Berber women of Morocco can be traced back to the dawn of time; the ever-present diamond motif has existed since Neolithic times. These works reveal traces of thousand-year-old civilisations, revealing signs and symbols of even more distant history. One can equally find apparent the results of the mixing of the Berber and African cultures, combined with the ancestral caravans of the Sahara and Sudan to make those moroccan rugs.
Art is not only for painters and sculptors; many tribal objects evoke our senses, and can be considered as works of art. The Museum of Early Art in Paris has created new perspectives for these amateurs of tribal art, in which symbolism, graphics and range of colour bring out their universal value of beauty.
It is for many reasons that we have fallen in love with these boucherouite and we wish to contribute to their discovery by amateur collectors.
We do our modest part in the knowledge that these woven works of art have been recognised by specialists, gallery owners and museum curators.
TRIBAL ART MOROCCO
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