Rugsville Laila Heriz Rust Blue Hand Knotted Wool Carpet 8' x 10'

The Heriz pattern came out of the village looms of north-western Persia in the late nineteenth century, where weavers translated the curvilinear medallions of the city workshops into the bold rectilinear geometry the village loom could carry. A Heriz medallion is built from straight lines and diamond corners; what looks like a stylised flower in a Tabriz becomes an angular diamond in a Heriz. The pattern travels because it does not require fine knotting to read at full strength.

Three weavers shared the loom in India for around four and a half months. Hand-spun wool was tied in the Persian asymmetric knot against a cotton foundation. The rust ground required madder root matured for three weeks in copper vats and applied across two successive dippings to set the depth without burning the highlights. Indigo for the central medallion ran through four baths in series. Walnut hull and oak gall carried the secondary borders.

The composition

A massive central medallion in deep indigo and ivory anchors the rust ground, with corner spandrels in matching indigo that complete the geometry. The border carries a turtle motif in walnut and cream, the canonical Heriz boundary that has not changed in 130 years. The rust will warm into terracotta over a decade as the madder settles, and the indigo will deepen. Abrash banding across the field is intentional and will become more visible with use.

What you are buying

Antique Heriz carpets of comparable scale and palette realise $9,000 to $20,000 at international rug auctions when their corners and selvedges have survived intact. This is a new weaving in the same village idiom, on the same loom, in the same fibre. A vegetable-dyed Heriz appreciates with use rather than depreciating, an inversion of how almost any other domestic object behaves over a thirty-year horizon.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) is the working scale for a primary living group, a smaller dining room, or the foot of a king bed. The rust and blue palette pairs with walnut and oak floors, leather upholstery in cognac or chestnut, brass fixtures, and walls in chalk or warm grey. The geometry of the Heriz reads from across the room and does not require close inspection to land its visual weight.

Conservation

Rotate the rug a half turn each spring and autumn so light and traffic distribute evenly. Vacuum weekly on suction only. Blot spills with cool water and a clean cotton cloth. A wool-trained conservator should hand wash the rug every five years. The Heriz construction is famously durable; with this care it will outlive its first owners.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~4.5 months
• Pile: 9 mm hand-spun wool
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo, walnut, oak gall)
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery is offered. 7 days from delivery to exchange the piece.