Sari silk as a rug fibre is a relatively young material with very old roots. The silk in this carpet started as worn wedding saris and ceremonial cloth, retired from use, then unravelled by hand and respun on a charkha into the variegated yarn that now forms the pile. Each thread carries a quiet history of an earlier dye bath, an earlier weft, an earlier life, which is why no two metres of sari silk are ever truly identical in tone.

The ikat field across the surface is set on the warps before knotting, in the resist tradition that travelled out of the Indian subcontinent and into Central Asia by the eighth century. Three weavers shared the loom in India for roughly six months, tying knot after knot against a vertical beam to build the soft jagged edges that ikat alone produces. The cotton foundation holds the silk pile flat, and the green tones are reinforced by indigo over-dye on selected hanks to keep the verdancy from drifting toward yellow as the rug ages.

The composition

A muted forest green carries the field, broken by ivory, ochre, and a deeper bottle tone where the resist has bled. The ikat blur means there are no hard edges anywhere on the carpet, only soft transitions, the way watercolour pools at the edge of a brushstroke. Sari silk reflects light differently along its grain, so the green reads cooler from one end of the room and warmer from the other. Walk around it and the rug appears to breathe.

What you are buying

An 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) hand-knotted recycled sari silk ikat at this density and condition would be quoted by a Western dealer at three to four times this price, and antique Central Asian ikats of equivalent fibre quality have crossed the block at Sotheby's London in the £8,000 to £15,000 band. The fibre is reclaimed silk, the labour is six months of three pairs of hands, and the design is a living tradition. The piece appreciates with wear rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

At 8' x 10', the rug suits a primary living area arranged around a low coffee table or a long dining setting under a six-to-eight seat table. Green of this depth reads best against off-white, lime-washed plaster, or warm grey walls. Pair with brass, raw teak, and linen upholstery. Avoid putting it under heavy patterned drapery; the ikat needs the visual room to do its work.

Conservation

Rotate end to end every six months so light and footfall age the silk evenly. Vacuum on suction only, never with a beater bar, which will cut silk fibres at the surface. Blot any spill with white cotton, never rub. Hand-wash by a silk-trained conservator every six to eight years and the rug will see a hundred.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted recycled sari silk on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: hand-knotted, ikat resist on warp
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~6 months
• Pile: silk, soft sheen finish
• Origin: India

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