Red and white is one of the oldest colour pairings in the Persian tradition, and it works because the contrast is uncompromising. Madder ground, undyed wool drawing, no third tone competing for the eye. The Mahal workshops in western Iran built their reputation on this kind of declarative composition, and the design vocabulary they developed at the end of the nineteenth century has been the most-copied open-field idiom in the carpet trade ever since. The piece in front of you is a contemporary weaving inside that lineage.

Two to three weavers shared the loom for around four and a half months in India. Around 1.7 million asymmetric knots tied against cotton warps in hand-spun New Zealand wool. The red ground was pulled from madder root matured in copper vats; the white reading is undyed wool. The carpet was finished with a slow wash to soften the saturation, then sheared back to expose the slight irregularity that hand-spun wool produces against a flat machine yarn.

The composition

A madder field carries an all-over floral repeat in undyed white. The pattern is evenly distributed across the ground, no central medallion, with a single deep border framing the composition rather than the multi-tier borders the lesser end of this tradition uses. The white is not stable. Over the years it will warm toward bone, the madder will lighten and reveal the brick undertone the dye carries beneath the surface red.

What you are buying

Antique Persian carpets in this idiom with comparable condition trade at western auction in the range of $20,000 to $45,000 when they appear at all. This is a contemporary weaving inside the same tradition, on the same kind of loom, to the same density, in the same fibre. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating. The MSRP printed against the price is calibrated against the international auction record, not against retail comparables.

The piece in a room

The standard 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) reading anchors a primary bedroom or a medium-large living area. The red field works best against ivory or chalk walls, with mid-tone wood furniture and high-contrast black or brass accents. The palette is uncompromising; the rest of the room should commit to it rather than compete with it.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn so the borders age evenly with foot traffic. Vacuum weekly with suction only, no beater bar. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth, working from the outside of the spill inward. Schedule a hand-wash by a wool-trained conservator every five to seven years. With this care the piece runs three generations.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted New Zealand wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~4.5 months
• Pile: 10 mm wool
• Dye: vegetable (madder, undyed white)
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange. The piece arrives crated and the packaging can be re-used to insure the carpet during a future move.