Rugsville Kashmir Medallion Red Ivory Silk Carpet 4' x 6'

An ivory medallion against a red field is the most photographed pairing in the Indian silk catalogue. The reason is structural: the undyed ivory sits as a true neutral inside the warm red, and the eye reads the medallion as a window or aperture rather than as an applied motif. The composition predates most other Indian colour combinations and has remained in continuous production at the senior workshops for over three centuries. The piece in front of you carries that lineage forward at four-by-six.

Two weavers shared the loom for close to ten months. Pure mulberry silk pile, silk foundation, the single-knot Indian technique tying the asymmetric Persian knot row by row against a vertical beam. The red was drawn from cochineal matured in copper vats over three weeks. The medallion's ivory uses the silk's undyed natural colour, which means the contrast holds permanently rather than degrading at differential rates the way two dyed colours can. Border indigo and accent gold were prepared in separate vats and applied to skein-dyed silk before weaving.

The composition

A red field carrying a central medallion in concentric ivory, gold, and indigo. Four palmettes mark the cardinal axes, with ivory arabesque vine running the negative space. Border layers carry indigo guard bands either side of a cream main band of repeating small florals. The silk's directional sheen shifts the red between warm and cool tones across the day; the ivory medallion holds its quiet centre. Over years the undyed ivory will warm to bone, the red will deepen toward old garnet, and the rug will gain the soft surface patina that no synthetic fibre can fake.

What you are buying

Antique Indian silks at four-by-six in this red-ivory pairing with intact condition and comparable density list with specialist dealers in the $10,000 to $25,000 band. This is a current weaving in the same Mughal lineage, on the same silk-on-silk loom, at the same density of work. Ten months of two-weaver labour and the cost of pure mulberry silk in both pile and foundation are inside the price you see. Silk on silk appreciates with use rather than depreciating; the rug enters the room as a long-horizon object closer to inheritance than to flooring.

The piece in a room

4' x 6' (122 x 183 cm) anchors a guest bedroom at the foot of the bed, sits in a study under a writing desk, or works as a focal field in front of a fireplace. The red ground reads against ivory walls and against muted blue or sage, and pairs with brass, dark walnut, and patinated bronze. Diffused daylight is welcome. Long direct sun should be moderated to preserve the silk colour depth.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn every six months. Monthly suction-only vacuuming, beater bar off. Blot spills with white cotton immediately, never rub. Silk-trained conservation cleaning every three to five years; never use a wool-only cleaner. Storage rolled face out, never folded. Cared for this way, the silk gains patina with use over multiple decades.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted mulberry silk on silk foundation
• Dimensions: 122 x 183 cm (4' x 6')
• Construction: single-knot Indian, Persian asymmetric
• Hands: 2 weavers, ~10 months
• Pile: 5 mm silk
• Dye: natural, red field with ivory medallion
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange window.