Shammai Vintage Moroccan Runner Rug

• Moroccan rugs don’t come with a key. As with any painting or poem, their motifs have many subjective interpretations. Originally made for personal use, these rugs took months to weave, documenting a shifting tide of events and emotions in the weaver’s life.
• Lined with a repeating set of four medallions to create multiple points of visual interest and direction
• A checkerboard field is playful, geometric, and said to be symbolic of higher realms, worlds beyond, fertility, and the divine.
• An eye motif indicates the power to reflect the evil eye, and thus protect the weaver

Boujad was considered a holy town. Boujad rugs were made by a variety of tribes, and thus vary widely in color, composition, and weave. Often described with words like surreal, mystic, and mesmerizing, these rugs depict a world beyond reality. Construction-wise, they have twice as many horizontal as vertical knots, which makes them floppy and easy to move.

This rug is called a boucherouite, which derives from bu sharwit, a Moroccan Arabic term meaning 'piece of cloth'. Reflective of the ever-shifting post-modern, post-consumer landscape, these 'everything rugs' are woven with colorful miscellaneous fiber scraps. In this piece, a wool pile is knotted onto mixed-fiber wefts and textured wool warps.

Moroccan wool is locally sourced and produces a thick, strong pile that feels soft underfoot. Having stood the test of time, this hand-processed wool has reacted to its various environments, acquiring an untamed, nubby look and feel.