Rug Margoum Tezbekt 128x190 cm

The rhombus

The diamond is the Berber carpet pattern par excellence. It appears on almost all Berber carpets in the Maghreb, whether in Tunisia, Algeria or Morocco.

Meaning 1: The diamond is an ancient Berber feminine symbol that represents woman and her beauty. It represents the womb of life, the uterus or the woman's body as a whole.

Meaning 2: The eye or the mirror: what reflects or allows one to see.The representation of the eye is in the Berber culture a way of countering the evil eye. In the same way, the mirror reflects the evil eye against itself.

The zigzag

The zigzag is one of the most present Berber signs on Tunisian and Moroccan carpets.

Meaning 1: Male symbol of fertility and fecundity.

Meaning 2: Image of water, symbol of life and matrix of existence. Image of the waves of the generating sea or of the lightning bringing rain.

Meaning 3: Image of the serpent that represents the lunar seasons and represents by its moult the renewal of life and the resurrection of nature, the cycle of seasons full of promise. The snake also represents the union of the opposites male and female, sky and earth, night and day...

The 5-branch double comb

Berber carpets are woven entirely by hand without shuttle or spindle. The only accessory used by the craftswomen is the weaving comb which is used to pack the wool of the carpet. It is therefore a strong symbol associated with creativity and fecundity. It is often represented on Tunisian carpets, especially on woven carpets such as kilims and margoums.

On this carpet, the combs have 5 branches. They refer to the hand of Fatma (khomsa) and its five fingers, present on many tunisian handicrafts. The khomsa is an ancestral symbol of Berber beliefs used as an amulet against the evil eye symbolizing protection, power and strength.

The weaving combs of this carpet are also doubled, which refers to the tree of life and its roots symbolising life, knowledge and wealth.

The waves

Male symbol referring to sensory movement and fertility. Associated with the rhombus, it signifies the coupling of man and woman.