The Moroccan diamond field is one of the cleanest motifs in the Berber tribal vocabulary. Cream undyed wool, a sparse dark line drawing, no border, no medallion, no incident to anchor the eye. The composition descends from rugs woven in the Atlas mountains for household use, never for sale, until the second half of the twentieth century.

Three weavers shared the loom for 5 months on this piece. Approximately 432,000 hand-tied knots at around 75 per square inch on a cotton foundation. The pile is hand-spun wool, dyed in small lots from madder root, indigo, oak gall, and walnut hull, with each batch matured in copper vats for two to three weeks before the wool was lowered.

The composition

Stylised flowers float across the ground in a loose all-over repeat. The ivory grounds the composition; the ivory works as relief above it. The reds are drawn from madder root, the blues from indigo, the ivories left undyed. A vegetable-dyed wool rug does not arrive complete; it arrives ready to settle.

What you are buying

Antique Heriz and Serapi pieces with comparable drawing and condition trade at international auction in the range of $15,000 to $40,000. New weaving in the same tradition, to the same density, on a cotton foundation, exists for a fraction of that number because the production economy is intact. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

At 5' × 8' (152 × 244 cm) the rug carries a medium living area or a primary bedroom. The composition holds at a distance and reveals on approach. Curved upholstery softens the angularity; brass and aged leather pick up the ivory.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn so light and traffic age the rug evenly. Vacuum weekly with suction only, beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth without rubbing. Hand-wash by a wool-trained conservator every five years. Cared for this way, the rug runs eighty to a hundred years and outlives its first owner.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 152 × 244 cm (5' × 8')
• Construction: symmetric (Turkish) knot, hand-tied
• Knot density: ~75 KPSI
• Total knot count: ~432,000
• Hands: 3 weavers, 5 months
• Pile: 18 mm, hand-spun undyed wool
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo, oak gall, walnut hull)
• Origin: India

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