Rugsville Tibeten Stripes Ivory Black Wool Carpet 38019

About 1.4 million hand-tied knots. Roughly six months of work on a vertical loom for a team of two to three weavers. The Tibetan stripe rug is one of the simplest forms in the hand-knotted catalogue, and that simplicity is precisely the design challenge. With no medallion, no border, and no figurative incident, the rug must hold on its colour relations and the texture of the surface alone. A pattern that does nothing showy survives because it lets the room do the talking.

This 5' x 8' (152 x 244 cm) piece was knotted in handspun wool over a cotton warp. The ivory ground is undyed wool from highland flocks in northern India. The black bands are dyed in iron-mordant walnut, which gives a soft, slightly warm carbon rather than a flat synthetic black. The pile was cut to a moderate height after the rug came off the loom, then sheared a second time by hand to bring the stripes into the same plane.

The composition

The field is ivory with soft black banding running the length of the piece. The bands are not equal in width; the spacing wanders, narrow against wide against narrow, in the manner of hand-drawn lines rather than measured intervals. The ivory ages toward bone over the first two years. The black holds steady, since iron mordant locks pigment to the keratin of the fibre. The whole composition relies on negative space and the slight irregularity that handwork carries into geometry.

What you are buying

Hand-knotted Tibetan stripe rugs in pure wool at this scale carry retail tags of 1,500 to 3,000 USD through Western specialists. The price here reflects direct-from-loom production and a domestic supply chain. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating. The handspun wool develops a slight sheen along the lines of foot traffic, which lifts the contrast between ground and band over the years.

The piece in a room

5' x 8' (152 x 244 cm) sits well in a primary bedroom under a queen bed with the foot off the rug, in a living area beneath a coffee table and pair of armchairs, or as the floor for a study with a desk and reading chair. The ivory and black palette is uncommitted; it pairs with anything from raw oak through painted plaster to dark walnut and brass. The geometry holds at a distance.

Conservation

Rotate the rug end to end every six months. Vacuum weekly on suction with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with a clean dry cotton cloth, then a damp one, never rub. Hand wash by a wool conservator every five to seven years. Stored properly, a Tibetan-construction wool rug runs sixty to eighty years in service.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted handspun wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 152 x 244 cm (5' x 8')
• Construction: Tibetan loop and cut
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~6 months
• Pile: 10 mm
• Dye: iron-walnut on undyed wool
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange after delivery.