The serrated diamond medallion is one of the oldest figures in Caucasian weaving, found on early Karachov and Bordjalou pieces from the southern Caucasus and rewoven continuously through the nineteenth century in Armenian village workshops. Its survival across two hundred years of dealer fashion is a function of how much visual weight the figure carries on a small floor area; a single Kazak diamond can hold a room without any other ornament around it.

This piece was hand-knotted in India by three weavers over roughly four months. Hand-spun wool was prepared in vegetable dye baths of madder root for the red field and a careful ivory left undyed, then washed in spring water before knotting against a cotton warp. The Turkish symmetric knot was used throughout, around 100 to 130 KPSI, which is the density at which Caucasian designs read at their proper scale. The selvedges are wrapped in goat hair for stiffness, the way the village originals are finished.

The composition

A single large central diamond medallion, ivory at its core, framed in red, set on a deeper red field. Smaller hooked figures fill the space around the medallion in a pattern collectors call latch-hooks. The border is built of reciprocal arrowheads in ivory and indigo, narrower than mainland Persian borders, which gives the field room to dominate. The colour drift across the red is deliberate; abrash from natural dye lots is what tells a hand-spun, hand-dyed Kazak from a synthetic copy.

What you are buying

Comparable nineteenth-century Caucasian work has cleared the auction block at Rippon Boswell, Skinner, and Christie's repeatedly in the $7,000 to $18,000 range. This is a new hand-knotted weaving in the same lineage, in vegetable-dyed wool on cotton, made in India by three weavers across four months. The carpet appreciates rather than depreciates with careful use, which is uncommon for any object of this size.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) is the standard scale for a primary sitting room or a study. The red ground works against ivory plaster, lime-washed walls, or warm grey paint, and the rug pairs naturally with worn leather, dark walnut, and brass lighting. Avoid placing under heavily patterned curtains; the Kazak field needs flat textile around it to read.

Conservation

Rotate the rug a half turn twice a year so footfall and natural light age both ends evenly. Vacuum gently on suction only with the beater disengaged. Spills go up with a clean white cotton cloth pressed straight down, never wiped. Schedule a wool-trained hand wash every five to seven years to extend the rug's working life past a century.

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)
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery. 7-day exchange of unused goods.