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Vintage Rare Oversize Mauritanian Sahara Tuareg Leather and Reed Rug

About the Item

The carpets of the Tuareg, who are cattle herding nomads inhabiting a vast expanse of the Sahara desert, are among the most exciting group of weavings to appear on the market. These are woven by binding together fine straw reeds obtained from the panicum turgidum plant with strips of camel leather, the latter being often embellished with light green and yellow pigments in order to enrich the detailing of the pattern. Referred to as eseber by the Tuareg nomads, these large mats are used as tent screens and dividers. In ‘African Nomadic Architecture’ (1995), Labelle Prussin describes these mats as essential ‘to define an interior volume in which the wealth of colour, texture, memory, and meaning that permeates and impregnates the interior of the enclosed space could constitute a closed system of imagery.’ The designs are often based on their iconography, with star and cross-like devices alternating with geometric totemic-like figures of an abstract nature - typical of other forms of African art. On this rare large-format square example, the field is divided in concentric elements, the innermost being a small rectangular compartment containing a diamond element flanked above and below by zig-zag motifs, overlaid on a field embellished by geometric motifs characteristic of the Tuareg, The wide border displays a sequence of square and diamond elements together with a totem-like device.
  • Dimensions:
    Width: 140.56 in (357 cm)Length: 165.36 in (420 cm)
  • Style:
    Tribal (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Circa 1930
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Milan, IT
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: Alberto Levi Gallery 016081stDibs: LU954936547302

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