Agra carpets owe their reputation to the workshops that operated under Mughal patronage across northern India from the late sixteenth century onward. The defining qualities settled early. Long sinuous floral tendrils, angular vine work that resolves at every junction, palmettes pulled from Persian sources but elongated to suit a denser knot count, and a borderwork that frames without crowding. A round Agra is a more recent construction. The compositional discipline is the same, but the geometry has to bend.

One to two weavers worked this 6 ft (183 cm diameter) round over roughly three and a half months. Knotting a circle on a rectangular loom requires the design to be re-plotted each row, with the cartoon adjusted for the chord length at every height. The pile is hand-spun wool on a cotton foundation, tied with the Persian asymmetric knot. The piece was finished with a tea wash that drops the surface into the warm antiqued register that defines the Agra revival vocabulary.

The composition

A central rosette in faded ochre sits inside a beige field that radiates outward through a layered floral repeat. The vine work is plotted to follow the circumference rather than to ignore it, which is the technical signature that separates a true round Agra from a square design forced into a circular trim. The border carries a single guard band rather than the layered borders that would crowd a round at this diameter. The colour will quiet over time.

What you are buying

Antique Indian rounds with comparable density and condition trade through London dealer rooms between 4,500 and 9,000 pounds when they appear, which is rarely. A new Agra round is a continuation of the tradition with the same constructional discipline, and the appreciation curve is intact because the supply of weavers who can plot a circle is shrinking each year. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

6 ft (183 cm) diameter sits naturally beneath a round dining table for four to six, in the centre of an octagonal entry, or as a circular focal piece in a primary bedroom or library. The beige palette pairs with walnut, oak, brass, and natural linen. Round geometry asks for a centred ceiling fixture or skylight above. The rug holds a room rather than fitting into one.

Conservation

Rotate a quarter turn every six months so foot traffic distributes evenly across the radius. Vacuum on low suction, beater bar off. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth pressed flat. A wool-trained conservator should hand wash the piece every five to six years to lift dust from below the pile.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 183 cm diameter (6 ft round)
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 1 to 2 weavers, around 3.5 months
• Pile: 9 mm
• Origin: India

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