Moroccan rugs range from graphically dense to monochrome, incorporating bright, saturated shades as well as light, natural, muted tones. This wide range and lack of conformity make Moroccan rugs unique – each deeply reflects the place it was woven and the culture of its weaver. And, we’ve started to put together a tiny new collection of rather special Moroccan rugs – 'city' rugs from Mediuona, named after the small town some miles east of Casablanca

Weaving of ‘city’ carpets in centres like Rabat and Casablanca started as early as the 18th century. Here weaving, although naturally influenced by Berber traditions, also drew heavily on design in Turkish carpets

In addition, their rectangular shapes are perhaps more distinctly Moroccan than rural rugs - this shape arose due to the practical space limitations of houses crowded within the confines of walled cities. Here rooms were almost always oblong and rugs were woven to be the same

Within this group of rather lovely city rugs there is a distinct group – known as Mediuona rugs. Again these carpets draw inspiration from Ottoman design and Arab rug-making traditions

However, just as with rural tribal Berber rugs, with the popularity of Moroccan rugs today, it is important to distinguish between the authentic, made-for-home rugs and those made for export. Our little collection of Mediuona rugs displays the neutral tones and elegant yet idiosyncratic geometry of the best personal rugs, indicating that they were created with the local owner in mind, destined for the hidden family rooms surrounding typical Moroccan courtyard houses

These natural rugs in soft muted tones - coffee, fawn, caramel, cream - are well-crafted authentic pieces that were produced without the 'market' in mind, and are filled with a symbolism unique to their place and time