Tibetan knotting is a different technique from the Persian and Turkish schools, and the difference shows in the surface. The weaver wraps the wool around a metal rod that runs the width of the loom, ties the knot, and cuts the rod free at the end of the row, which produces a slightly looser pile and a softer surface than the Persian asymmetric knot. The Newcastle line works inside this tradition, combining hand-carded high-altitude wool with mulberry-grade silk in a contemporary palette. The technique has not changed in three hundred years.

One weaver worked the loom for around four months in India. Hand-carded wool laid down knot by knot against cotton warps, with silk highlights pulled through the field where the design called for reflection. The wool was hand-washed before dyeing, which lifts the lanolin out of the fibre and lets the colour penetrate to the core of the yarn rather than sitting on the surface. The piece was finished with a slow shear that exposes the silk highlight above the wool ground.

The composition

The beige reading carries the field with a quiet warmth, with black incident drawn through the design as a graphic accent rather than a competing ground. Silk catches light at certain angles and disappears at others, which is what silk in a carpet is meant to do. Over the years the wool will warm toward bone and the silk will hold its lustre. The Tibetan knot produces a surface that ages into a patina pure-Persian construction takes longer to reach.

What you are buying

Tibetan wool-and-silk carpets in this format with comparable construction trade at international auction in the range of $5,000 to $15,000. This is a contemporary weaving on hand-built looms, in hand-carded wool with silk highlights, by a weaver trained in the Indian floor-loom apprenticeship working in the Tibetan technique. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating. The small format makes the piece the most affordable entry into hand-knotted wool-and-silk that the studio offers.

The piece in a room

3' x 5' (91 x 152 cm) is the working scale for a runner alongside a bed, a layered piece over a larger ground rug in a primary living room, the foot of a sofa, or a meditation corner. The beige and black palette pairs with walnut and oak furniture, with chalk and warm-grey walls, and with brass or polished nickel hardware. The geometry reads at close range and rewards approach.

Conservation

Rotate twice a year so foot traffic ages the surface evenly. Vacuum weekly with suction only, beater bar disengaged. Use a fine-bristle attachment over the silk areas. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth and cool water, never rub. Schedule a hand-wash by a silk-and-wool conservator every four to six years.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool with silk highlights, on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 91 x 152 cm (3' x 5')
• Construction: Tibetan knot
• Hands: 1 weaver, ~4 months
• Pile: 11 mm
• Origin: India

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