Vintage Tribal Handmade Moroccan Natural Undyed Wool Rug BB5852 6'4" × 11'5" $5,200

This circa-1940 vintage black and white Moroccan rug features two intriguingly off-center diamond shapes outlined in sharp dark brown, and a similarly placed single horizontal dark brown line against a field of natural cream. At once modern and evocative of traditional tribal elements, the vintage carpet is part of the rich rug-weaving tradition of Morocco. Moroccan antique 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 vintage 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 in NYC makes them attractive to modernist collectors.

From versatile flatweaves to shaggy hand-knotted area rugs or runners, Moroccan rugs are both decorative and functional. They are valued for their technical qualities, expert use of fibers, great tensile strength, and abrasion resistance. Without a doubt, the original tribal Moroccan rugs from the Doris Leslie Blau collection bring character and a touch of worldliness to an interior.