About 1.2 to 1.5 million hand-tied knots laid into a circle. Roughly five months of work split between two and three weavers at a vertical loom. The Agra round in hand-spun wool is one of the more demanding formats in the Indian carpet vocabulary because the loom time is high, the knot-count chart changes every row across the curve, and the design has to resolve symmetrically from any orientation. This piece is built on that demand.

The pile is hand-spun New Zealand wool dyed with natural pigments. Each knot was tied by feel against a vertical beam, with the pattern transferred from a hand-painted cartoon adapted row by row to the changing knot count of the round shape. The cotton foundation was double-warped at the field's widest point. Herbal hand washing in the finishing stage softens the pile and lifts the loose surface fibre that would otherwise shed in the early weeks of use.

The composition

A beige ground with deep black motif work at the centre and across the border, with the black resolving symmetrically at the four cardinal points of the curve. The beige carries the natural tonal drift of hand-spun wool, slightly warmer in some passages and cooler in others. The black sits flat and anchors the field against the surrounding architecture. The contrast is the work; everything else in the rug is built to support it.

What you are buying

A new weaving in the nineteenth-century Agra tradition, in hand-spun New Zealand wool with natural dyes, on a cotton foundation, by named weavers in India. International dealer comparators for any 6' round Agra in this fibre cross ₹2.5 lac. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating, and the black border deepens rather than greying as the surrounding wool ages.

The piece in a room

6' round (183 x 183 cm) is the working scale for a small round dining table seating four, a corner conversation pair with two facing armchairs, or a small foyer beneath a hanging light. The black-and-beige palette pairs cleanly with white walls, with mid-tone painted rooms, and with both warm and cool floor finishes. Pairs particularly well with framed black-and-white photography on the surrounding walls.

Conservation

Rotate a quarter turn every three months because the round shape has no long edge to absorb directional wear evenly. Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with a dry cotton cloth, working inward from the outer edge of the spill. Hand wash by a fibre-trained conservator every four to five years to lift soil before the black ground dulls.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun New Zealand wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 183 x 183 cm (6' Round)
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~5 months
• Pile: 10 mm hand-spun wool
• Dye: natural
• Origin: India

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