An ivory-ground Kazak is the harder version of the form to weave well. The white field exposes every irregularity in the spinning, every shift in the dye, every slip of the knife. Most village weavers in the nineteenth century reserved the ivory ground for their best work, sold to dealers at a premium and shipped to drawing rooms in Vienna and London where the colour suited the panelled walls. The convention has held in revival production ever since.

This carpet was hand-knotted in India by three weavers across roughly four months. The ivory was left undyed, washed only in spring water and a mild olive-oil soap to keep the natural lanugo of the wool intact. The accent reds came from madder root in copper baths, indigo from fermented woad. Knots are Turkish symmetric on a cotton warp and weft, with goat-hair selvedges hand-wrapped along the long sides. The back shows the dense single bumps of a properly tensioned symmetric weave.

The composition

An open ivory field carries three column-arranged medallions in red, indigo, and a soft camel. Latch-hook ornaments fill the space between the medallions in the Caucasian tradition. The border is a narrow band of reciprocal trefoils in indigo and ivory. Ivory wool yellows slightly with time, which is the quality collectors look for; in five years the field reads bone, in ten it reads warm parchment, all without losing its luminosity.

What you are buying

Antique ivory-ground Kazaks of this scale and quality have crossed the auction block at Sotheby's London and Bonhams in the $10,000 to $25,000 range, with the best examples reaching higher. A new hand-knotted revival in vegetable-dyed wool on a cotton foundation, made in India over four months by three weavers, sits well below replacement cost. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

The 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) format suits a primary sitting area or a dining room under a six-seater table. An ivory ground reads beautifully against any wall colour, but earns its keep most against deeper paints, charcoal grey, oxblood, or forest green, where the carpet pulls light into the floor. Pair with walnut, brass, and cognac leather for the best contrast.

Conservation

Ivory grounds show soil sooner than red or indigo grounds. Vacuum twice weekly on suction-only, with the beater bar off. Place a runner near doorways so footfall is filtered before reaching the carpet. Have the rug hand-washed by a wool conservator every four to five years rather than the standard five to seven, because the ground colour cannot hide accumulated dust.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Turkish symmetric knot
• Knot density: ~100-130 KPSI
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~4 months
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo, undyed wool ground)
• Origin: India

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