Rugsville Herbal Beige Wool Carpet 8' x 10'

Tibetan rug weaving is the oldest continuous high-altitude carpet tradition, developed in monastery and household workshops above 3000 metres where the cold and the slow growth of the local sheep produced a wool with exceptional lanolin content. The technique migrated south after 1959 with the Tibetan diaspora and was taken up by Indian weaving studios working with Tibetan masters. The Herbal palette is a contemporary expression of the tradition; soft beige, ivory, and sage producing a quiet field.

Three weavers shared this 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) loom in India for around five months. The pile is hand-spun wool on a cotton foundation, knotted with the Tibetan loop knot that gives the surface its characteristic plush hand. After weaving the rug was washed in a lustre bath, sheared by hand to even the pile, and the selvedges hand-finished along the long edges.

The composition

A soft beige field with quiet incidents in ivory and faint sage, drawn loosely rather than in a crisp repeat. The Tibetan tradition prefers tonal variation to figural drawing; the eye reads light and texture rather than pattern. The wool's high lanolin content gives the surface a soft sheen that wool from lower-altitude sheep does not produce. Over the first decade the beige will warm slightly into bone, and the lustre will deepen as the lanolin works to the surface.

What you are buying

Tibetan-tradition hand-knotted carpets at this size price at three to four times this MSRP at international design dealers. The Tibetan loop knot is slower to tie than the Persian asymmetric knot, which is why the loom commitment is longer than for an equivalent Persian-style piece. A Tibetan-knot rug holds its plush hand for decades and gains lustre with foot traffic.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) is the working drawing-room scale. The herbal beige palette pairs with limewashed walls in cream or warm grey, with mid-tone walls in soft sage or terracotta, with walnut and oak floors, with linen upholstery. The Tibetan plush rewards bare feet; place the rug in a sitting area where the sensory quality is part of the room's daily experience.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn. Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills immediately with a clean cotton cloth. Hand-wash by a wool conservator every five to seven years. The lanolin content of Tibetan wool is preserved by gentle cleaning; harsh detergents strip it.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun Tibetan wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Tibetan loop knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~5 months
• Pile: hand-spun Tibetan wool
• Origin: India

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