Rugsville Gabbeh Tribal Red Black Wool Carpet 4' x 12'

Gabbeh weaving comes from the nomadic Qashqai of southern Persia, prized for thick wool, simplified figuration, and the freedom that comes from working without a cartoon. This rug carries that approach, hand-knotted in India.

A small team shared the loom for several months. The pile is hand-spun wool, knotted by feel against a vertical beam on a cotton foundation. The dye palette was prepared in small batches before the wool was lowered into the vats, the way every long-lived carpet has been finished for two hundred years. The cartoon was followed loosely; small hand-driven irregularities in the field are the signature of a piece woven without a power-driven aid.

The composition

A red and black ground, a tribal Gabbeh pattern in deeper tones, and a quietly drawn border. The rug is built to age. Saturation softens, contrast deepens, the field warms. A naturally dyed wool of this kind does not arrive complete; it arrives ready to start.

What you are buying

The price is held by the workshop pricing this piece as new production rather than as a collector lot. The construction, the wool, the knot density, and the drawing are all auction grade. The piece appreciates with use; ten years in, it reads like a softened antique rather than a new rug.

The piece in a room

Used at the size as listed, the piece works as a medium living area, primary bedroom, or formal sitting room. Soft bone, putty, or lime-washed plaster walls let the red and black field settle as a considered ground. The drawing reads from a standing viewer, then resolves at chair-side. Furniture sits on the rug rather than around it.

Conservation

A hand-knotted carpet wants slow, careful maintenance. Rotate twice a year, vacuum without a beater bar, keep the underside dry, and have a wool conservator wash the rug every five to seven years. The pile compacts into the foundation with use; this is preservation, not wear.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: size as listed
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: a small team, several months
• Pile: hand-spun wool, sheared close
• Dye: colour-fast wool
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery on request. Seven-day exchange policy.