Tapestries
from Tataouine
Tapestries from Tataouine include a number of hand-woven products from the
South of Tunisia. The Bedouin tapestries “Hamil” and “Wissada” are made of long strips of tightly woven fabric from
sheep, goat and in some
cases camel wool. They are traditional, utilitarian textile works, sometimes difficult to find and
expensive. “Ajar”, a fine woven Berber tapestry, featuring the colours of the South is more a decorative item. “Mooshtia” and the “grey Klim” are examples of adaptations to
fashion, both being used as ground or wall decorations today.
Tunisian
fine carpets
Tunisian
fine knotted carpets are derived from the famous "Kairouan", which incorporates essentially Arab and Ottoman components, which make it
a true Oriental rug. Kairouan carpets are hand knotted and made of pure sheep wool. They have different motives, including the traditional
"Mihrab" and more modern designs, as the "Hammamet" The "Magic Cupboard" is a recent design inspired by traditional
Arab motives, reminding the 1001 Nights. The "Alusha" is a Tunisian knotted rustic carpet with soft surface. It is essentially a
"Kairouan" but with a limitation in colours to the natural shades of sheep wool, i.e. black to white with all shades of grey, brown
and beige. RAKEN features two qualities : the 20x20 texture with 40'000 knots/sqm and the superior 30x30 texture with 90000 knots/sqm.
Berber
carpets
Berber carpets are thick and made of long hair sheep wool. They are white
or beige with or without motives. Motives are in warm colours and various shapes, but generally discreet. RAKEN features superior quality (14400 knots/sqm in various sizes.
Modern Kilims
The “Klim” or “Kilim” is a short napped woollen carpet traditionally made by the nomads of Southern
Tunisia. Formerly used to
cover litters on camels or to split tents, they nowadays serve for both ground and wall
decoration. Traditional Klims feature motives using
triangle and rhomboid shaped patterns in various colours. RAKEN features modern designer
Klims, mostly beige with special motives inspired by Tunisian and other cultures. Our Klims come in four standard
sizes.
Mergoums
The “Mergoum” is another form of ground tapestry and comes in various
standard sizes. Mergoums are specific to a whole area of Eastern Sahara, extending from Southern Tunisia to the North of
Chad. In Tunisia, the
production of Mergoums is subjected to the Quality label of ONAT (Office National de l’Artisanat Tunisien). RAKEN offers a large number
of traditional Mergoums, in various colours and featuring different patterns.
Ouedhref rugs
The Ouedhref or Mergoum Ouedhref is a special variation of the Mergoum from the South of Tunisia. Like other mergoums, the Ouedhref is a short
hair handwoven rug made of pure sheep wool. The traditional Ouedhrefs have triangular and rhomboid motives, much as the traditional Tunisian Kilims.
A famous variation is the Jendar, which associates Berber motives from the South of Tunisia. The fine Ghani versions are characterized by the use of at least three colours, giving them a somewhat richer texture.
In the frame of our Collectors
Corner, we can also seek for you other carpets and tapestries according to your specifications and descriptions.