Meet SAFA — an exceptionally rare Moroccan rug with not one, but two lives.

At its core, SAFA is a fully hand-knotted Beni Ouarain rug: a substantial wool rug, made using the traditional knotting technique and with all the weight and density that comes with it.

But this piece didn’t stop there.

One Moroccan woman artisan took a small series of existing Beni Ouarain rugs and transformed them one by one, knotting pieces of repurposed textile through the original wool pile. The result is something we rarely come across: the structure and substance of a traditional hand-knotted wool rug combined with the wonderfully free, tactile character we associate with Boucherouite.

SAFA is the last piece we have from this very limited series.

Look closely and you can see just how much work is hidden in its surface. Wool and textile sit alongside and on top of one another, creating an exceptionally dense, almost feathery texture. Soft traces of blush, sage, faded blue, cream and earthy tones appear between the wool, while the original darker motifs remain visible throughout the composition.

The added textiles came from fabric remnants originally intended for kaftans, giving existing materials an entirely new purpose. The result feels almost sun-faded and beautifully timeworn, despite the extraordinary amount of work contained within it.

At 246 × 166 cm, SAFA is a substantial and remarkably heavy rug. This is not simply a decorative Boucherouite made from textile scraps, but a complete hand-knotted wool rug that has subsequently been worked by hand for a second time.

A rug transformed into something that exists only once.

DETAILS

• One-of-a-kind reworked Beni Ouarain rug
• Original fully hand-knotted wool rug
• Subsequently transformed by hand by a Moroccan woman artisan
• Repurposed textile pieces individually worked into the existing wool pile
• Wool & repurposed textiles
• Exceptionally dense, substantial and heavy construction
• Soft neutral palette with faded pastel tones & dark graphic motifs
• Approx. 246 × 166 cm
• The last SOUK in the CITY piece from this limited series
• Handmade character: variations in shape, weave, colour and texture are inherent to the piece

ORIGIN & SOURCING

Personally sourced by Joëlle for SOUK in the CITY through Saïd in Marrakech, Morocco. Part of a very small series created by one woman artisan, who transformed existing hand-knotted Beni Ouarain rugs by working repurposed textiles into their wool pile. SAFA is the final piece from that series in our collection.