Rugsville Kashmir Medallion Red Blue Silk Carpet 5' x 7'

Silk on silk is the upper limit of what a hand loom can resolve. The Indian workshops have been working to that limit since the seventeenth century, when Persian masters who emigrated to Srinagar carried with them the asymmetric knot and the formal vocabulary of medallion, palmette, and arabesque vine. The five by seven format opens the medallion composition to its full breathing room, with enough field for the corner work to balance the centre and enough border for the guard bands to layer properly.

Two to three weavers worked the loom for roughly twelve months. Pure mulberry silk for both pile and foundation, the warp drawn tight enough to hold the field square at this scale, the weft fine enough that the asymmetric knot resolves the curving palmette tendrils without breaking the line. Dyes were prepared in copper vats from natural sources and matured for weeks before the silk was lowered, so the red ground holds its depth and the indigo accents do not migrate into the field over time.

The composition

The red field carries a central medallion in concentric ivory, gold, indigo, and rose. Four palmettes set on the cardinal axes mark the field corners, while indigo arabesque vine threads the negative space without crowding it. Layered borders frame the composition: a deep indigo main band of small florals between cream guard bands. The silk catches light directionally, so the entire rug shifts between warm and cool red as the viewer crosses the room. The fibre will gain a fine surface sheen with use that no synthetic equivalent can reproduce.

What you are buying

Antique Indian silks at the five-by-seven scale with intact condition and comparable knot work command $15,000 to $35,000 with specialist dealers in London and New York. This is a contemporary weaving in the same lineage, on the same kind of silk loom, at the same density. The piece appreciates with use rather than depreciating. The price reflects twelve months of two- to three-weaver work plus the cost of pure mulberry silk for both pile and foundation. There is no other object you place on a floor with comparable provenance at this entry point.

The piece in a room

5' x 7' (152 x 213 cm) is the formal-living scale and the bedroom statement scale. The red ground reads against ivory walls as a focal field; against muted teal or sage walls it settles deeper. Pair with brass and dark wood. The rug works under a coffee table flanked by armchairs, in front of a fireplace, or as the centrepiece of a primary bedroom carrying the bed at one end. Diffused light preferred; long direct sun should be avoided to preserve the silk colour.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn every six months. Suction-only monthly vacuuming, beater bar disengaged. Blot spills immediately with white cotton, never rub. Silk-specialist conservation cleaning every three to five years. Storage rolled face out, never folded. With this care the rug runs into the next century.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted mulberry silk on silk foundation
• Dimensions: 152 x 213 cm (5' x 7')
• Construction: single-knot Indian, Persian asymmetric
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~12 months
• Pile: 5 mm silk
• Dye: natural, red and blue
• Origin: India

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