Vintage Patchwork Modern Overdyed Hand Knotted Area Carpet-Aubergine 11066 9' x 12'

Aubergine as an overdye colour reads as the warmer register of the cool spectrum, where indigo is layered with madder so the resulting field shifts between deep purple, plum, and aubergine depending on the angle of light. The patchwork lineage came out of the early 2000s, when Anatolian and Indian workshops began rejoining sections of older village carpets into single new compositions and immersing the whole rug in a single saturated bath. The Aubergine variation is the most chromatically saturated of the line.

The base carpets were woven on vertical looms in India over the last fifty to a hundred years by three to four weavers per piece, in hand-spun wool on cotton warp, tied in Persian asymmetric knots. The patchwork construction took a further four weeks at a specialist workshop, with sections calibrated for thickness, hand-stitched at the seams, and reinforced. The overdye used indigo and madder layered over four short baths with the mordant calibrated for the aubergine wavelength. The rug was sun-dried for several days before final brushing.

The composition

A field of saturated aubergine with the underlying older drawings reading through as tonal shadows of medallion, palmette, and vine. The colour shifts subtly across the field, deeper where the underlying ground was indigo or rust, lighter where it was cream. The seams are visible on close reading and contribute to the composition rather than detracting from it. The border is the field continuing to the selvedge.

What you are buying

Patchwork overdye carpets at 9 x 12 in saturated colour registers reach twenty to fifty thousand US dollars through the specialist Western dealers. This rug shares the base carpet quality, the patchwork discipline, and the layered overdye process. At one and a half lac it sits well below the dealer comparable and appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

9' x 12' (274 x 366 cm) anchors a primary drawing room. The deep aubergine pairs with modern interiors that want a saturated colour ground without losing the hand-knotted character. Pairs with chalk walls, washed oak, brushed brass, leather, and a single large modern work above the sofa.

Conservation

Rotate the rug a half turn each spring and autumn. Vacuum weekly, suction only, beater bar off. Blot spills at once with clean cotton. Patchwork overdyes benefit from professional cleaning every four years. The seams should be checked at every clean. With this care the rug runs five decades.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted patchwork wool on cotton foundation, overdyed
• Dimensions: 274 x 366 cm (9' x 12')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot, hand-stitched patchwork
• Hands: original weavers across multiple base carpets; ~4 weeks patchwork and overdye finishing
• Pile: hand-spun wool
• Dye: overdye in indigo and madder
• Origin: India

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