Vintage Moroccan Rug BB5942 9'8" × 15'9" $40,000

This circa-1940 vintage Moroccan rug features an intriguing all-over design of linear and geometric abstractions in shades of dark brown, salmon and yellow against a field of neutral beige. The vintage carpet appears at once modern and evocative of tribal designs. Moroccan rugs have typically been woven by tribal peoples for their utility rather than for decoration. These vintage carpets experienced a growth in popularity in the West when mid-century modern designers such as Le Corbusier paired the thick piled Berber rugs with their minimalist furniture. Many of these Berber carpets are woven by the Beni Ourain peoples from the Rif Mountains near the city of Taza in northern Morocco. Colors vary from neutral shades to bright, stand-out hues, with designs ranging from geometric simplicity to free-flowing abstraction. The primitivist feel of many Moroccan carpets makes them attractive to modernist collectors.