Vintage Patchwork Modern Overdyed Hand Knotted Area Carpet-Ultramarine 11084 8' x 10'

Ultramarine takes its name from the deep blue pigment imported by sea into Renaissance Europe and reserved for the most important passages of paint. As an overdye on patchwork wool, the colour has to land somewhere between cobalt and a slightly cooler navy without drifting to either, and the bath must be hot enough for the older fibre to take the dye fully.

Recovered hand-knotted wool sections were sheared down and washed clean of original colour. Two artisans worked the dye phase over close to four months, lowering each section into an ultramarine bath at controlled temperature for forty-eight hours. The dyed segments were then hand-stitched onto a cotton backing by a finisher and the pile evened with a closing shear at six millimetres.

The composition

A field of saturated ultramarine that holds tonal weight across the rug, varying from patch to patch between a brighter cobalt note and a deeper midnight register. The seams are quiet. Underlying carpet patterns ghost through as faint tonal shifts rather than visible figures. Under daylight the blue carries pure pigment weight, and under candlelight it settles into something closer to deep velvet. Over two years the colour will deepen and the wool will gain the polish older fibre develops underfoot.

What you are buying

European patchwork overdyes at this scale are listed at four to six lakh by Western dealers. This piece is offered direct from the Indian workshop. The carpet appreciates with use rather than depreciating because the constituent fibre is older, denser, and more characterful than any new wool.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) anchors a sitting room with restraint or a study lined with bookshelves. The ultramarine ground reads beautifully against cream plaster walls, against pale oak floors, and against deep walnut joinery. It pairs with brass and aged bronze lighting, with leather in cognac or oxblood, and with art that uses warm white grounds. The colour grounds rooms with high ceilings.

Conservation

Suction vacuum every week. Rotate end to end each spring and autumn. Blot spills immediately with a clean white cotton cloth from the edge inward. Avoid bleach. A wool conservator should hand-wash the rug every five years to restore lanolin and remove embedded dust.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool patchwork, overdyed
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: original Persian-asymmetric knot, re-stitched
• Hands: 2 artisans and 1 finisher, ~4 months
• Pile: 6 mm
• Colour: ultramarine
• Origin: India

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