Green Floral Hand-Knotted Wool Rug

Wool on the surface, viscose in the flowers and cotton underneath: a hand-knotted floral rug in green, 291 × 201 cm (9'7" × 6'7"), made in India. The ground shifts between several greens rather than holding one, and the flower heads are worked in the viscose so they catch light the wool does not. Flowers on rugs usually come from other rugs.

01The tone of the ground

These come from plants — drawn open, with stems that move rather than repeat, and spaced widely enough that the green between them counts as part of the design. That green is not flat. It runs from a deep leaf tone through something lighter and wetter, which is what the Turkish description means when it compares the surface to leaves under morning dew, and it is why a large single-color field does not go dull across almost six square meters of floor. It is knotted by hand in India.

02From ground to pile

The three fibers are separate facts and worth keeping separate: wool makes the pile, cotton carries the structure, and viscose appears only inside the motifs, where its shine does the job silk would do at many times the cost.

03Where it sits in the house

At close to three meters by two it is a full living-room size, big enough for a sofa to stand on with a low table clear of its edge. Viscose does not like water, so this one is washed professionally or not at all. Hand-knotted in India. Wool pile, cotton foundation, viscose worked into the flower motifs. A green ground that moves through several tones rather than sitting flat. Open floral drawing taken from plants rather than from older rugs. 291 × 201 cm (9'7" × 6'7") — a living room, under a sofa and table. Washing by a professional; the viscose will not tolerate a home wash. Just the one. Green is the color people say they will never put on a floor until they see it there.