Rugsville Ikat Ivory Bamboo Silk Carpet 8' x 10'

Bamboo silk is one of the more recent additions to the carpet weaver's fibre cabinet. Mechanically extruded from regenerated bamboo cellulose, the fibre carries a lustre between mulberry silk and rayon, with a slightly cooler chromatic temperament that takes pale and ivory tones particularly well. When it lands in a hand-knotted carpet, the surface picks up a quiet, almost ceramic sheen that wool alone cannot give. This rug works that quality through the soft geometric grammar of ikat resist dyeing.

Three weavers shared the loom for around five and a half months on this piece. The pile is bamboo silk over a cotton foundation. Each row was tied by hand against the cartoon at the back of the loom, with the resist-edge feather characteristic of ikat translated knot by knot. The finished rug was sheared close to relieve the motifs above the field by about two millimetres, washed in cold water, and stretched on a frame for ten days to set the foundation before inspection.

The composition

An ivory ground with motif work in cream, sand, putty, and a recessed warm grey, organised in the vertical pillar bands of older Central Asian ikat. The dye edges feather in the bound-warp manner, even though the colour register is held in a quiet tonal range. Bamboo silk catches light at two angles. The rug reads almost porcelain from one viewing angle and softer from another. Over time the cream warms a quarter step toward bone and the lustre deepens with use.

What you are buying

Hand-knotted bamboo silk pieces in this size and density typically sit between two and three lakh in private dealer settings. The Rugsville pricing reflects a direct workshop relationship and does not absorb a dealer margin. Bamboo silk pile compresses less than wool and develops the soft polish of a used textile rather than the mat-down of a worn one. The rug appreciates with foot traffic instead of degrading under it.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) suits a primary living room with a sectional, or a master bedroom with a king bed pulled forward and a bench at the foot. The ivory palette settles into rooms with limewashed walls, raw oak or pale travertine floors, and natural linen upholstery. Avoid pairing with high-key bright white because the rug reads as cream against pure white; it asks for textural neighbours rather than chromatic ones. Soft incandescent light brings out the bamboo silk's lustre.

Conservation

Vacuum gently with the suction-only nozzle and never a beater bar, which crushes the pile. Rotate the rug every six months because the ivory ground reveals uneven wear earlier than a saturated one. Blot any spill within seconds using a dry cotton cloth and cold water only. Send the rug to a silk-specialist conservator for hand wash every five to seven years. With this care the piece holds for eighty years.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted bamboo silk on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: hand-knotted, asymmetric knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~5.5 months
• Pile: 9 mm
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery available. Seven-day exchange from receipt.