Vintage Patchwork Modern Overdyed Hand Knotted Area Carpet-Purple Passion 11081 12' x 15'

Purple in a hand-knotted carpet was, until the late nineteenth century, the most expensive colour on the loom. The dye came from cochineal mixed with logwood and an iron mordant, and the cost of the cochineal alone made saturated purple the privilege of court commissions. The over-dyed patchwork tradition uses synthetic anthraquinone purples to reach the same intensity in a single bath, then submerges vintage panels of older Turkish and Persian rugs in that bath so the entire field reads as a single saturated composition.

The 12' x 15' (366 x 457 cm) format sat on the loom for close to seven months under five weavers. The carpet carries close to 4.7 million hand-tied knots on a cotton foundation. The vintage panels were sourced from older carpets that had already lived twenty to fifty years, cut, knotted into a new ground while still under tension, and then over-dyed in copper vats. Eight immersions in the dye, each followed by a forty-minute oxidation in air, set the purple at its final depth.

The composition

A field of saturated cochineal-style purple holds a grid of unequal rectangular panels. Each panel carries the ghost of a different older composition, a medallion in one cell, a stylised palmette border in another, a geometric Caucasian diamond in a third. The over-dye unifies every original colour into a tonal family of the purple, so the rug reads as one work. Purple at this saturation softens slightly over the first decade, then settles into a deep aubergine that holds for forty years before drifting toward plum.

What you are buying

Comparable over-dyed patchwork carpets at this density and scale list with Western dealers between $9,000 and $13,000 when stock is available. This piece is offered at clearance pricing well under that level. The reduction reflects inventory turnover rather than any compromise on the loom. Hand-knotted wool of this construction appreciates with use rather than depreciating, a property no other floor object holds at any price.

The piece in a room

12' x 15' (366 x 457 cm) is the scale for a long drawing room, an open living area built around a generous sectional, or a primary bedroom with the bed floated forward. The purple takes mid-tone walls best, plaster grey, deep ivory, oxblood. It pairs with walnut and dark oak floors, with brass and bronze hardware, and with upholstery in undyed linen or charcoal velvet.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn every spring and autumn so light and traffic age the rug evenly. Vacuum weekly on suction only, beater bar disengaged. Blot any spill with a dry cotton cloth, never rub, and lift moisture with absorbent paper. A wool-trained conservator should hand-wash the piece every five to seven years. With this regimen, the rug runs 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: anthraquinone purple over-dye, iron mordant
• Origin: India

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