6 x 12 Vintage Rabat Moroccan Rug 77203

77203 Vintage Rabat Moroccan Rug, 06'02 x 11'09. 

Brilliant color and tribal allure collide in this stunning hand-knotted wool vintage Moroccan Rabat area rug. Two latch-hooked stepped medallions elegantly float in the center of an abrashed scarlet red field. Each medallion contains a graphic multi-colored diamond surrounded by smaller diamonds adorned with botanical motifs. The field is scattered with a variety of motifs including octagons set with eight-pointed stars, trousseau chests, rosettes, leaflets, and calyxes. A black border that repeats the eight-pointed star motif curves around the medallions breaking into a paneled border decorated with flowers and S-shapes. The outer borders feature series of large blossoms and diamonds. Eight-pointed stars traditionally represent spirituality, trousseau chests represent marriage, and diamonds and S-shapes are both seen to protect against evil. 

Unlike most other Moroccan rugs, Rabat city rugs exhibit Anatolian designs and influence, though it is unclear how these designs came to Morocco many centuries ago. According to the Indianapolis Museum of Art's 'The Fabric of Moroccan Life,' the women weavers of Rabat recount a legend: one day, a stork dropped a piece of rug into the courtyard of a house. The rug's colors and design, previously unknown in the land, were seen by the women weavers of the house as a divine gift—a talisman and a good omen that inspired them deeply. The people of Rabat consider wool to be as precious as gold and a variety of rituals surround the making of their rugs. They are known to be able to create bright and saturated polychromatic color schemes with a narrow palette. 

• Rendered in variegated shades of scarlet red, ruby red, onyx, black, charcoal, green, avocado, yellow, light yellow, eggplant, and ivory with other accent colors. 
• Tag on the back reads: Morocco, Rabat. 
• Made by the Rabat Village Women. 
• Abrash.
• Hand knotted wool.
• Made in Morocco.
• Berber Tribes of Morocco. Rabat.
• Measures: 06'02 x 11'09.
• Date: 1960's. Mid-20th Century.