Moroccan Memories

After exploring the world of Berber women through their adornments and jewellery, this second book focuses on that of men through their arms. Genuinely decorative, these arms reflect a thousand-year-old tradition, made richer by absorbing the cultural influences that swept across this vast but historically contested land. Moroccan daggers and rifles belong to a specific category that emerged with the spread of Arab culture. Yet the ornate design of these weapons highlights their uniqueness – often rooted in Berber culture.

While open to Islamisation, the Moroccan Berbers were less inclined to embrace Arab civilisation, although they did adopt many of its key features. Thanks to appropriation and assimilation, they developed a rich culture but held on to the core traditions of a civilisation that emerged when the Sahara was still verdant.

Through the collection of arms assembled by Anne-Marie Gillion Crowet and Nathalie de Merode, this history is constantly being rewritten to foster a dialogue with its female counterpart. Bridges between these two worlds highlight the enduring nature of a culture. Muslim and Jewish artisans were highly skilled in making daggers. This craftsmanship contrasted with the modest clothing, in which Delacroix, on a visit to Morocco, perceived traces of antiquity’s “noble simplicity and quiet grandeur”.