The composition is built around a single large central medallion. Everything else in the rug works in service of it. That priority is what defines the Karachov sub-group of Caucasian Kazaks, where one bold figure on a saturated red ground does the entire job of the carpet, with no competing focal points and only the simplest filler ornaments around it. Karachov pieces from the late nineteenth century are now among the most actively collected of all Caucasian work.

Three weavers shared the loom in India for around four months. The wool is hand-spun, dyed in vegetable baths of madder root for the red and indigo for the small accents, then knotted on a cotton warp using the Turkish symmetric knot at roughly 100 to 130 KPSI. The pile was sheared down to about ten millimetres after weaving and then washed in a mild soap bath to bring up the natural sheen of the wool. The selvedges are hand-wrapped in goat hair for the rigid edge a tribal Kazak demands.

The composition

A single squared, hooked medallion in cream and indigo dominates the centre, set on a vivid madder red field. Smaller geometric figures, hooked diamonds and cross-and-X motifs, scatter the field as filler. The border is a band of reciprocal trefoils in cream and red, narrower than Persian borders allow. The red ground breathes through subtle abrash, drifting between brick and crimson across the field as the dye lots changed during weaving.

What you are buying

Comparable antique Karachov-style Kazaks have cleared at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Skinner in the $9,000 to $24,000 band. This is a current hand-knotted revival in the same tradition, in vegetable-dyed wool on cotton, made in India over four months by three weavers. The carpet does not depreciate. With careful use the dyes settle, the wool gains lustre, and the value of the piece holds or grows.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) holds the centre of a substantial sitting room or anchors a dining setting under a long table. The bold red field will dominate any space it sits in. Pair with white walls, dark wood floors, and quiet upholstery; let the rug do the visual heavy lifting. The Karachov design works particularly well in rooms with mid-century timber furniture, where the geometry of the chairs and the geometry of the medallion answer each other.

Conservation

Rotate end to end each spring and autumn. Vacuum weekly on suction-only with the beater bar disengaged. Spills go up with a dry cotton cloth pressed straight down. Plan for a professional hand wash by a wool conservator every five to seven years.

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
• Pile: ~10 mm
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo)
• Origin: India

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