The exhibition “The Art of the Rabat Carpet,” inaugurated on Tuesday by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat, at the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum in Baku, pays a fitting tribute to ancestral craftsmanship and to the cultural dialogue between the Kingdom and this Asian country.
This high-profile cultural event honors one of the treasures of Morocco's intangible heritage: the Rabat carpet, distinguished by the elegance of its motifs, the delicacy of its execution, and the richness of its cultural roots.
It also showcases the skills of women artisans of Rabat, as guardians of a refined art handed down from generation to generation. Through their meticulous craftsmanship and creativity, these women transfer ancestral know-how and embody the living soul of the Rabat carpet.
The exhibition also offers a selection of documentary and artistic photographs tracing various stages of carpet-making in Rabat - from conception to final weaving - alongside those crafted by women weavers in Baku.
This artistic journey culminates in a unique visual dialogue between a traditional Rabat carpet from the collections of the National Carpet and Textile Museum “Dar Si Saïd” in Marrakech, and a historic carpet from the Gazakh-Gaymagli region of Azerbaijan. This comparison highlights remarkable commonalities in weaving techniques, symbolic motifs and color palettes, illustrating the universality of artistic language and the richness of cultural exchanges.
Set in a carefully designed space, the exhibition showcases the beauty of the artisanal skill and offers visitors a sensory immersion in the realm of women weavers, paying tribute to their valuable contribution to safeguarding this heritage.
This exceptional exhibition showcases the city of Rabat and its carpets, as well as the skills of the craftsmen and women who are the true custodians of this ancestral tradition, General Manager of La Maison de l'Artisan, Tarik Sadik, emphasized, noting that the Foundation, which places heritage safeguarding at the core of its priorities, has opted for new technologies to reinforce the transfer of this authentic art and to bring cultural heritage closer to younger generations.
The aim of the exhibition is also to promote dialogue between the Rabat carpet and the Azerbaijan carpet, two emblematic expressions of craftsmanship with a long tradition of fabrication, reflecting shared values of openness and cultural exchange and transfer between the two countries, he told the press.
The Rabat Carpet, an authentic ancestral know-how
The Rabat carpet is a living representation of the importance of the long-term transfer of know-how, fashioned by the hands of women weavers working in a domestic or community space, displaying their intellectual skills through manual crafting transferred from generation to generation, to elevate this carpet towards an ostensible luxury to be offered or bought on weddings.
As recounted in the tale "My grandmother’s carpet,” written by young middle schooler Malak Razek, the art of carpets is a beautiful ode to family memory and intergenerational transfer.
“After discovering the richness of Morocco's vast tangible and intangible heritage, I chose to take part in the storytelling category by sharing the story of the carpet woven by my grandmother, which she offered to my parents on their wedding day,” the young author told MAP.
Through this tale, published in the magazine "Roya" and edited by the Foundation for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Rabat, Malak strived to highlight the emotional and cultural dimension of this heritage, expressing her great pride at seeing her story selected to feature in this exhibition.
Associated with city life, the Rabat carpet retains all its originality, thanks to the taste, skill and local know-how of Moroccan women weavers, as evidenced by the lush corpus of floral and geometric embellishments of Moroccan origin, enhanced by harmonious and balanced colors, all consolidated by the thin and solid warp yarns, weft threads and knotted stitches.
It is a sumptuous carpet with short wool and fine texture, with a composition steeped with oriental influences. Characterized by perfect symmetry, it harmoniously unfolds its brick red or antique pink colors, combining floral, geometric and even zoomorphic elements.
“Weaving” dialogue between Rabat and Baku
“The Art of the Rabat Carpet” exhibition is also an opportunity to celebrate the cultural dialogue between Rabat and Baku, bringing together two ancestral traditions.
This exhibition maintains the efforts of the Foundation for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Rabat, chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, which has strived since its creation to safeguard, promote and transfer Morocco's intangible heritage.
Through this exemplary initiative, the Foundation reaffirms its commitment to promoting living know-how, in particular those embodied by women's creativity, and weaving lasting cultural links between peoples.
MAP: 06 mai 2025
