Rugsville Kashmir Medallion Red Ivory Silk Carpet 5' x 8'

New Zealand mulberry silk is the only fibre that takes natural dye to the saturation a classical Indian red needs without losing the directional sheen that makes the rug shift colour as you cross the room. The pure-silk Indian silk tradition was codified by Persian weavers who emigrated to the Mughal courts in the seventeenth century and was carried forward by Indian workshops who refined the single-knot technique to a level no other tradition has matched at scale. The five-by-eight format opens the medallion composition fully and gives the room a major focal field.

Two to three weavers worked the loom for close to thirteen months. Pure mulberry silk in both pile and foundation, the asymmetric Persian knot tied in the single-knot Indian technique against a vertical beam. The red was drawn from cochineal matured in copper vats; the silk was lowered into the bath twice and air-dried slowly between dips so the colour entered the fibre at depth. The ivory of the medallion uses undyed silk, which is the only way to keep the contrast permanent across decades of light exposure and use.

The composition

The red field carries a central medallion in concentric ivory, gold, and indigo, with four palmettes set on the cardinal axes and ivory arabesque vine threading the negative space. Border layers stack indigo guard bands either side of a cream main band of small repeating florals. The silk's sheen makes the red shift between warm crimson and deeper garnet by viewing angle, and the ivory medallion holds the room's quiet anchor regardless of light. The undyed ivory will warm to bone with the years; the red will deepen toward old garnet.

What you are buying

Antique Indian silks at five-by-eight in this red-ivory medallion pairing with intact condition reach $20,000 to $45,000 at specialist dealers when they surface. This is a contemporary weaving in the same Mughal-court lineage, on the same kind of silk-on-silk loom, at the same density of work. Thirteen months of two- to three-weaver labour and the cost of pure mulberry silk in both pile and foundation are underneath the price. Silk on silk appreciates with use; no other floor object has that property at this fibre at any price.

The piece in a room

5' x 8' (152 x 244 cm) sits as the focal field of a primary living area, anchors a primary bedroom carrying the bed at one end, or grounds a fireplace seating arrangement. The red ground reads against ivory and bone walls, settles deeper against muted teal or sage, and pairs with brass, dark walnut, and patinated bronze. Diffused light is preferred. Long direct sun stretches should be moderated to preserve the silk dye.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn every six months so wear and light reach the field evenly. Suction-only vacuuming, monthly. Blot spills with white cotton immediately, never rub. Silk-specialist conservation cleaning every three to five years. Storage rolled face out, never folded. With this care the silk only improves across multiple decades and the rug outlives its first owner intact.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted mulberry silk on silk foundation
• Dimensions: 152 x 244 cm (5' x 8')
• Construction: single-knot Indian, Persian asymmetric
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~13 months
• Pile: 5 mm silk
• Dye: natural, red field with ivory medallion
• Origin: India

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