HENBAL and ZEMMOUR
TRIBAL RUGS of MOROCCO.
Edo Marino

CARE & FAIR
Child exploitation in the East
Heinrich Volker

Moroccan rugs, which are particularly interesting for their archaic nature and for the importance of their symbolism, today represent a stimulating source for research for Orientalists, scholars studying the textile arts, anthropologists and ethnologists.
Our study, which essentially concentrates upon research in loco and from bibliographical references, has sought to trace the roots of the Moroccan traditions in the mountainous, pre-desert and desert areas of the Moroccan territory.
Morocco is a land of varied territorial composition and finds its maximum union in the production of articles, with Berber ethnic groups forming the majority of the country’s population.
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The weaving and knotting of carpets is an important activity for the economy of many Eastern countries, involving a considerable number of people, both in the areas where production is organised, with large workshops and factories drawing from a pool of craftsmen, and in areas where production is undertaken in smaller units, often based on family groups. ( ... )

One of the most beautiful and intriguing decorations in oriental art is the fight between eagle and serpent. Sometimes these creatures are depicted realistically, and on other occasions they acquire fantastic characteristics—the eagle becoming a phoenix, and the serpent a dragon.
The design appears on oriental carpets from different periods and regions. Whether in full detail or highly stylised, it is the frequency of the design that has caught the attention of scholars. Far Eastern origins have often been attributed to this theme owing to the clear resemblance in the conventional representation of the dragon, particularly on carpets from the Safavid era, with that of the Chinese dragon known as kuilung. (...)