Light green carpets are unusual in the Persian tradition because the classical schools favoured the deeper indigo-green saturations that came from heavy over-dyeing. The lighter, paler greens were a Ziegler-era development, drawn for British and continental rooms that wanted a quieter register on the floor. The pattern in front of you, named for a sitter the design was originally drawn for, works in that softer green territory.

Three weavers shared the loom for around five and a half months. The wool used here was hand-spun and tied at moderate density on a cotton warp. The light green was built up in a single careful indigo bath, layered over a pomegranate undercoat, and matured for a fortnight before the wool was lowered. The beige tones in the floral repeats were drawn from walnut hull, with madder root tinting the rose accents and oak gall holding the deeper browns in the vine work.

The composition

A soft light green ground with a beige floral lattice carried at moderate scale, framed by a single restrained border. The green sits at the cool end of sage and shifts a half-tone warmer in evening light, which is the signature of a single-bath indigo-over-pomegranate dye. There is no medallion. The composition resolves through the rhythm of the lattice, which is the older Ziegler protocol for rooms that wanted the carpet to read as ground rather than as a centred object.

What you are buying

Vegetable-dyed Zieglers on a true light green field of this scale sell through Western dealers at the equivalent of four to seven lakh, and the colour itself is among the rarer Ziegler categories. At ninety-nine thousand against a list of nearly four lakh, this is a working bargain on a piece woven to the antique density in the same hand-spun wool. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating, and the rarity of a true Ziegler light green compounds the appreciation.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) is the working drawing-room scale. A light green field cools a room with strong south light and lifts a north-facing one. Pairs cleanly with cream plaster, oak, brass, walnut joinery, and washed linen. The borders show on three sides under a six-seater table or a primary sofa group.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn so the green ages evenly under window light. Vacuum weekly with suction only, beater bar disengaged. Blot any spill with a clean cotton cloth immediately, working from the outer edge inward. Hand-wash by a wool conservator every five years and ask specifically for cool-water rinsing to protect the indigo over-dye. Properly maintained the carpet runs ninety years.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~5.5 months
• Pile: 10 mm hand-spun wool
• Dye: vegetable (indigo over pomegranate, walnut, madder, oak gall)
• Origin: India

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