Tabriz workshops in northwestern Iran formalised the medallion-and-corner composition that defined Persian classical carpet weaving from the sixteenth century onward. The central medallion read as a dome reflected on the surface of a pool, and the four corner pieces completed the architectural quotation. The pattern has been continuously woven for five hundred years.

The loom carried this piece for several months. Hand-tied knots at approximately 220 per square inch on a cotton foundation. Hand-spun wool dyed in small lots from madder root, indigo, oak gall, and walnut hull, each batch matured in copper vats for two to three weeks before the wool was lowered.

The composition

An open ivory field carries the central motif. The black grounds the composition; the ivory works as relief above it. Vegetable-dyed wool gives the colour a slight irregularity that flat synthetic dye cannot match. Over the first decade the reds will warm and the ivories will move toward bone.

What you are buying

Antique nineteenth-century Caucasian Kazaks of comparable scale and condition appear at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Rippon Boswell at hammer prices between $8,000 and $25,000 when they appear at all. This is a new weaving in the same tradition, on the same loom, in the same vegetable-dyed wool. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating, and there is no other object you put on a floor with that property at any price.

The piece in a room

At the size as listed, the rug works as the central composition of a room arranged around it. Mid-tone walls hold the saturation. The black carries warmth into the architecture without competing with upholstery or art.

Conservation

Conservation rather than maintenance is the right frame for this piece. Rotate a half turn twice a year. Vacuum with suction only. Treat spills by blotting, not rubbing. Hand-wash every five to seven years by a conservator. Direct sunlight is a friend, not an enemy, to vegetable dye.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: size as listed
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Pile: 10 mm, hand-spun wool
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo, oak gall, walnut hull)
• Origin: India

Complimentary shipping across India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange. Arrives rolled and protected.