A sublime Beni Mguild rug, 1940s, from the central Middle Atlas with a “V-pattern” shimmering through the mysterious appearing brownish-purple pile. The grid-like arranged diamond motifs surrounding the large V shape, which is slightly offset to the left on the vertical central axis, form together the overall drawing that enigmatically peeks through the pile. This is a piece that unites two different characters in one: An elaborate, formal one on the flatweave side, and in turn a blurred, soft one on the pile side. Please note: This rug can be used on both sides, flatweave or pile side, depending on your needs. A high res image of the back side is available upon request.

The tribal area of the BENI MGUILD is located in the central portion of the Middle Atlas with Azrou as the largest town in the territory. The Beni Mguild tribe is split up into nine sub-tribes divided into three zones: the Azaghar Plateau region, the ridges of the Middle Atlas proper, and the steppes of the upper Moulouya valley. The knotted rugs of the Beni Mguild have a high pile height (up to 4 cm/ 1.57 in) with a dense structure if used as sleeping rugs. The ones used as floor coverings for festive occasions are lower in pile and even denser in structure. The colors are usually brownish purple or burgundy red, white ones are highly unusual, and in rarer cases also blue or green. The rugs of the Beni Mtir, Ait Seghrouchène (with a dark background), Zayan, Guigou and Ait Sgougou are most often confused with the ones of the Beni Mguild.