Rugsville Kashan Maharaja Ivory Red Wool Carpet 2' x 3'

The Kashan medallion is one of the oldest stable forms in the Persian repertoire. A diamond at the centre, four corner spandrels mirroring it, and a Shah Abbas field of paired arabesques running between. The form was set by the late sixteenth century court workshops and has remained legible at every scale since, from palace carpets the size of a banquet hall down to the prayer-mat format you are looking at here. The proportions are what carry the design at small scale. A weaver who shortens the medallion or thickens the border by even a few millimetres breaks the read.

This piece was hand-tufted in India by a single craftsman over about three weeks. Wool was pushed through a stretched cotton primary one tuft at a time with a hand-held tufting tool, then locked at the back with natural latex and a cotton scrim sealing the reverse. The pile was carved with hand shears so the ivory ground sits a millimetre above the red field, lifting the medallion forward.

The composition

Madder red ground, ivory medallion and corners, with indigo and soft green threading the floral repeats between. The red is the warm brick reading of the Kashan palette rather than the cooler crimson, which means the piece sits well against terracotta tile and against teak. The ivory is undyed wool and will warm into bone over the years rather than going grey.

The piece in a room

2' x 3' (61 x 91 cm) is the prayer-rug or accent scale. It works at the foot of a bed, beside a basin, in front of a chair where the feet land, or as the central piece of a small puja arrangement. The medallion gives the eye a focal point at this small format the way a single tile does in a floor laid with plain stone.

Care

Vacuum weekly with the beater bar off. Blot any spill with a clean cotton cloth, then press dry with a second cloth. Do not soak. Some light shedding is normal for the first month as loose fibres clear; the body of the rug stays dense. Professional dry clean every three years keeps the colours true.

Reference

• Medium: hand-tufted wool, latex bonded, cotton scrim
• Dimensions: 61 x 91 cm (2' x 3')
• Pile: 10 mm
• Hands: 1 tufter, ~3 weeks
• Origin: India

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