Ait Bou Ichaouen carpets, also called Talsints carpets as Talsint is the biggest town in the area where these are woven. People from Talsint belong also to the tribes of Aït Hamou Ousad, Aït Hadou Belahsen, Belboul, Aït Saïd Oulahsen, Aït Ali Ousaid and of El Bour.
Talsint is a region close to the Algerian border, in the Figuig province, located in north east Morocco. Their artwork was not discovered by the outside world until 1990. Woven by women of the tribes, they use bold, striking colours and tribal motifs, which reflect an older North-African weaving tradition.
The carpet motifs of the Berbers have antecedents in the signs we found in rock art and mobiliary art from the European Ice Age and in Neolithic evidence from the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean area. When and how the transfer took place remain hidden in the mists of prehistory.
The oldest surviving specimens date from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was thus possible to recognize the development only at a late stage. Berber carpets from the High Atlas and the Atlantic plains were at that time under the influence of ubran carpets from Rabat and Médounia which embodied wealth and prestige. This could lead to enrichment, but also to some alteration of original Berber motifs. Carpets from the Middle Atlas, like the Ait Bou Ichaouen rugs, however, remained largely free from outside influence.
In the Berber rugs, what has distinguished it through all the ages is the big creativity and the authenticity of these rugs. There is a little hope that it unique character will survive in your home or that in the future any other than museum pieces will remain to keep its memory alive.
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