For centuries, the people of Morocco have been producing magnificent embroideries, pile rugs, and flatweaves. The Fabric of Moroccan Life showcases rare embroideries, hangings, and rugs that reflect the broad range of traditions and cultural influences active in Morocco during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The book explores the artistic importance of these superb weavings as well as their central role in Moroccan culture.Approximately 150 pieces - and numerous details - are illustrated in colour, and additional photographs (including many that were taken in the 1930s) show how they were once used in everyday life in Morocco. The book includes essays on Moroccan embroidery and its origins, traditional costumes of the cities and rural areas, the weavings of the Berbers and other ethnic groups, and the distinctive characteristics of items made by particular ethnic sub-groups. The contributing writers are eminent scholars and experts in a variety of fields, including Moroccan history and culture; Moroccan rugs, textiles, and clothing; and natural dyes. A wealth of information is included that has never before been available in one volume.Niloo Imami Paydar is curator of textiles and costumes at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Ivo Grammet is coordinator of a new museum in Nador, northern Morocco. The contributors include Gérard Boëly, Gebhard Blazek, Katherine Dolk-Ellis, Narjys El Alaoui, Mustapha Hansali, Annette Korolnik-Andersch, Marcel Korolnik, Zineb Lehmam, Russell Pickering, Ahmed Skounti, Frieda Sorber, Wilfried Stanzer, and Marie-France Vivier.

For centuries, the people of Morocco have been producing magnificent embroideries, pile rugs, and flatweaves. The Fabric of Moroccan Life showcases rare embroideries, hangings, and rugs that reflect the broad range of traditions and cultural influences active in Morocco during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The book explores the artistic importance of these superb weavings as well as their central role in Moroccan culture.Approximately 150 pieces - and numerous details - are illustrated in colour, and additional photographs (including many that were taken in the 1930s) show how they were once used in everyday life in Morocco. The book includes essays on Moroccan embroidery and its origins, traditional costumes of the cities and rural areas, the weavings of the Berbers and other ethnic groups, and the distinctive characteristics of items made by particular ethnic sub-groups. The contributing writers are eminent scholars and experts in a variety of fields, including Moroccan history and culture; Moroccan rugs, textiles, and clothing; and natural dyes. A wealth of information is included that has never before been available in one volume.Niloo Imami Paydar is curator of textiles and costumes at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Ivo Grammet is coordinator of a new museum in Nador, northern Morocco. The contributors include Gérard Boëly, Gebhard Blazek, Katherine Dolk-Ellis, Narjys El Alaoui, Mustapha Hansali, Annette Korolnik-Andersch, Marcel Korolnik, Zineb Lehmam, Russell Pickering, Ahmed Skounti, Frieda Sorber, Wilfried Stanzer, and Marie-France Vivier.

First published in Great Britain in 1994.

Tells the stories of 25 women who practice textile traditions with an inspiring energy, pride, fortitude while contributing substantially to their family's income!

In southeastern Morocco, around the oasis of Tafilalet, the Ait Khabbash people weave brightly colored carpets, embroider indigo head coverings, paint their faces with saffron, and wear ornate jewelry. Their extraordinarily detailed arts are rich in cultural symbolism; they are always breathtakingly beautiful—and they are typically made by women. Like other Amazigh (Berber) groups (but in contrast to the Arab societies of North Africa), the Ait Khabbash have entrusted their artistic responsibilities to women. Cynthia Becker spent years in Morocco living among these women and, through family connections and female fellowship, achieved unprecedented access to the artistic rituals of the Ait Khabbash. The result is more than a stunning examination of the arts themselves, it is also an illumination of women's roles in Islamic North Africa and the many ways in which women negotiate complex social and religious issues. One of the reasons Amazigh women are artists is that the arts are expressions of ethnic identity, and it follows that the guardians of Amazigh identity ought to be those who literally ensure its continuation from generation to generation, the Amazigh women. Not surprisingly, the arts are visual expressions of womanhood, and fertility symbols are prevalent. Controlling the visual symbols of Amazigh identity has given these women power and prestige. Their clothing, tattoos, and jewelry are public identity statements; such public artistic expressions contrast with the stereotype that women in the Islamic world are secluded and veiled. But their role as public identity symbols can also be restrictive, and history (French colonialism, the subsequent rise of an Arab-dominated government in Morocco, and the recent emergence of a transnational Berber movement) has forced Ait Khabbash women to adapt their arts as their people adapt to the contemporary world. By framing Amazigh arts with historical and cultural context, Cynthia Becker allows the reader to see the full measure of these fascinating artworks.