Morocco – Tulu

This section of our gallery brings together two distinct rug traditions that share one quality: texture. Both Moroccan Berber rugs and Turkish Tulu rugs are defined by their long, plush pile — a weight and softness underfoot that flat-woven and short-pile rugs don’t offer.                                                                                       Moroccan Berber rugs come from the Atlas Mountains and the plains of North Africa. They’re woven by Berber women using techniques passed down within families, often incorporating personal symbols and abstract patterns that have no direct equivalent in the formal pattern vocabulary of Turkish or Persian weaving. The palette tends toward natural undyed wools — ivory, cream, brown, gray — with occasional geometric color accents.                                                                                                              Turkish Tulu rugs are shaggy-pile pieces from the Konya region of central Anatolia, traditionally woven from hand-spun mohair or wool. Tulu means “hairy” or “long-pile” in Turkish.  The construction is coarser than a knotted carpet and the pile is intentionally left long and irregular. Original antique Tulu pieces are rare and increasingly collected.                                                                                                                                                                        Both traditions reward touch as much as sight. If you’re shopping for one of these pieces, come in.