An overdyed colour wash held in green, jade green, woven in a hand-knotting tradition that runs back at least four centuries on the subcontinent. The workshops were first set up under Mughal patronage and have continued without interruption through colonial trade and into the present. The cartoon for this piece was drawn fresh for the loom rather than copied from a printed swatch, which is why the proportions read clean against the eye.

The work took 3 months. 2 weavers shared the beam, tying knots of dyed wool through a cotton warp one row at a time. The wash at the end of weaving softens the pile and locks the colour. What you receive is a single object woven by named hands, not a panel cut from a long roll of broadloom carpet.

The composition

The overdyed colour wash sits across a green ground, with jade green working the secondary lines. The two values were chosen so the figure lifts off the ground without shouting. The colour will deepen by a half-tone over the first decade as the pile settles and the wool's natural lanolin works through the surface.

What you are buying

At this price the rug is a working entry to hand-knotted wool collecting. The fibre, foundation, and technique are the same the workshop uses for pieces that sit at four or five times this price in retail. The piece lasts decades and earns patina rather than wear.

The piece in a room

At 4' x 6' (122 x 183 cm) the rug frames a single reading corner or runs beside a daybed in a study. The palette is warm enough to settle into the architecture and graphic enough to remain the still point of the room. It pairs well with walnut, oak, brass, leather, and unbleached linen. Strongly patterned upholstery is the one combination to avoid; the rug is the graphic event.

Conservation

Rotate one hundred and eighty degrees twice a year so light and foot traffic age the rug evenly. Vacuum on suction only with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth, working from the outside of the spill in. A hand-wash by a wool-trained conservator every five to seven years keeps the dye depth alive. With this care the rug runs eight decades and outlasts its first owners.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 122 x 183 cm (4' x 6')
• Construction: asymmetric knot, hand-tied
• Knot density: ~120 KPSI
• Total knot count: ~415,000
• Hands: 2 weavers, 3 months
• Pile: 9-10 mm wool
• Origin: India

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