Rugsville Shivling Charcoal Wool & Silk Carpet 6' x 6'

Charcoal as a carpet ground is a relatively recent development in the Tibetan vocabulary. Older Himalayan weaving favoured saturated reds and indigos with ivory accents; the move toward a deep neutral came when contemporary studios began designing for European and Indian collectors who wanted a hand-knotted piece that read as a piece of architecture rather than as a piece of decoration. Charcoal is the colour of unfinished concrete, of brushed iron, of a polished basalt floor in a converted warehouse loft. It does not call attention to itself, and that is its argument.

This 6' (183 cm) round was hand-knotted in India by two weavers over roughly four months. The pile is a blend of hand-spun wool and bombyx mulberry silk on a cotton foundation, tied with the Tibetan senna loop, cut at two slightly different heights so the central shivling motif rises gently above the field. The wool was dyed in a heavy iron mordant bath supplemented with logwood, the natural blue-black source used in Indian textile dyeing for centuries before synthetic alternatives existed. The silk was left undyed to provide the highlight inside the central form.

The composition

The field is a deep, slightly warm charcoal that holds the round geometry as a single quiet plane. At the centre, an oval form lifts a few millimetres above the surrounding pile and reads in cream, the silk picking up grazing light. The composition has no border. The eye finds the central form, settles on it, and then drifts back to the field. The piece will continue to age, with the charcoal deepening as the iron mordant continues to oxidise and the silk holding its lustre.

What you are buying

Charcoal Tibetan rounds in this fibre tier are typically sold by Western galleries between three and five lakh rupees once shipping and dealer margin are factored in. The senna construction, the wool-and-silk pile, the iron-and-logwood dye chain are identical to the workshops that supply that market. This is a hand-knotted piece that appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

The 6' (183 cm) round reads as a calm ground under a circular table, beneath a single sculptural armchair, or as the floor anchor in a dressing room. Charcoal pairs with warm wood, white plaster, aged brass, and natural linen. The palette is forgiving of strong colour elsewhere in the room; a single piece of saturated upholstery reads cleanly above the rug rather than competing with it.

Conservation

Quarter-turn each season so traffic and light age the perimeter evenly. Vacuum weekly with suction only and the beater bar disengaged. Blot promptly with a clean cotton cloth. A specialist hand-wash every five to seven years will preserve the silk lustre and the dye depth. The piece runs sixty to eighty years on this regimen with the charcoal slowly deepening into a true black.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool and bombyx silk on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 183 cm diameter (6' round)
• Construction: Tibetan senna loop, two-height cut
• Hands: 2 weavers, ~4 months
• Pile: 11 mm
• Dye: iron mordant with logwood
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery offered. 7-day exchange post-delivery.