Mid-20th Century Colorful Tribal Moroccan Handmade Wool Rug BB5867 3'2" × 6'1" $3,000

This circa-1940 vintage Moroccan rug features a bold all-over multicolor abstract patchwork design in shades of red, green, blue and beige. The overall look of the piece is at once minimalist, modern and evocative of tribal designs. Moroccan rugs have typically been woven by tribal peoples for their utility rather than for decoration.

These antique area rugs 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 vintage style area rugs 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 rugs 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.