Vintage Patchwork Modern Overdyed Hand Knotted Area Carpet-Lime Yellow 11078 12' x 15'

Patchwork as a carpet idiom is younger than the wool it is made from. The practice grew in the early 2000s out of a workshop habit of cutting and reassembling sections of vintage Turkish and Persian rugs that had survived a century of use, then over-dyeing the whole composition in a single saturated bath so the resulting field reads as one work rather than as fragments. The lime yellow over-dye on this piece sits over patterns that were originally madder reds, indigos, and ivory grounds, each panel still legible as a fragment of its own older composition.

Five weavers shared the loom for close to seven months at the 12' x 15' (366 x 457 cm) scale. Roughly 4.7 million hand-tied knots on a cotton foundation. The wool was sheared, sorted, and washed, then over-dyed in a copper vat with the yellow pulled from turmeric and pomegranate rind, fixed with iron mordant. The cutting and re-stitching of the panels happened on the loom itself, not after the fact, which is why the patchwork lies flat rather than buckling along the seams.

The composition

A field of acid lime yellow holds together a grid of unequal rectangles. Inside each rectangle, a different older pattern survives in ghost form. A medallion in one panel, a Herati repeat in another, a tribal Kazak diamond in a third. The over-dye softens every original colour into a tonal cousin of the yellow, the way a wash of watercolour pulls disparate pencil studies into a single sheet. The wool will lighten gradually over the next decade, and the underlying patterns will rise toward visibility rather than receding.

What you are buying

Genuine vintage patchwork carpets at this 12' x 15' scale, with comparable density and over-dye discipline, sell at European trade fairs and through Western dealers between $9,000 and $14,000. The same construction is offered here at well under half that figure. The price reflects clearance pricing on existing stock rather than reduced workmanship. Like every hand-knotted piece in vegetable-dyed wool, the rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating, which is true of no other floor covering at any tier.

The piece in a room

12' x 15' (366 x 457 cm) is the format for a long drawing room, an open-plan living area arranged around a sectional, or a formal dining table that seats ten to twelve. The lime yellow asks for restraint elsewhere, walnut floors, undyed linen upholstery, brass and matte black hardware. Cool grey walls let the yellow read as a contemporary statement; warm white walls let it settle as a traditional ground.

Conservation

Rotate the rug a half turn every spring and autumn so foot traffic and light age the surface evenly. Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged, suction only. Blot any spill with a clean cotton cloth and never rub. A wool-trained conservator should hand-wash the piece every five to seven years. Cared for this way, it remains in service for eighty to a hundred years and outlives its first owners.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 366 x 457 cm (12' x 15')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot, vintage panels over-dyed
• Hands: 5 weavers, ~7 months
• Pile: 8 mm
• Dye: vegetable over-dye (turmeric, pomegranate rind, iron mordant)
• Origin: India

Free shipping across India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange on this piece.