Multicolor Shawl-Pattern Handwoven Wool Rug, Anadolu Şal Series

Laid flat it reads the way a folded shawl reads — bands of color running one beside the next, each with its own small drawing: a wool rug handwoven for the Anadolu Şal Series, 124 × 182 cm (4'1" × 6'0"), orange against plum, turquoise against earth tones, with a fine patterned band closing the edge. One piece.

The color pairs are what make it work. Orange supplies the energy and plum supplies the depth to hold it down; turquoise opens the composition and the earth tones settle it again. Down each band run small flowers, stylized plants and geometric figures, the shapes Anatolian shawl drawing has carried for generations, and the narrow border around the outside pulls the bands together so the rug has movement and a single outline at once. Color combinations this sweet do not often turn up on a rug this authentically made.

Women in Anatolia wove it, and it took months. First-grade fleece gives the pile its softness and a natural sheen close to silk, and the wool is what makes it durable and comfortable at the same time. This series exists to put color and cultural weight into a room rather than to agree with what is already there. Set against plain modern furniture in wood or gray it produces a strong contrast, which is the intention. Wash it through a professional and vacuum it the rest of the time.

• Handwoven in Anatolia by women working in the traditional way, over months.
• 124 × 182 cm (4'1" × 6'0") — a warm corner, an entrance, a small sitting area.
• Bands of orange, plum, turquoise and earth tones running the length of the field.
• Small flowers, stylized plants and geometric figures on every band.
• A narrow patterned border ties the bands into one composition.
• First-grade fleece with a natural sheen close to silk.
• Drawn after the shawl patterns of Anatolia, which is where the series takes its name.
• Made to contrast with plain wood and gray, not to blend into it.

Weaving like this is thinning out in Anatolia, and the honest reason to buy one now is that there will be fewer next year.