Multicolor Handwoven Senneh Kilim

Senneh is the old name of Sanandaj, the town in the Kurdish region of western Iran whose weavers gave their name to a whole family of finely drawn flatweaves. This is a handwoven Senneh kilim in wool on cotton, multicolor, made in the Middle East, and it is not a new piece. There is no pile on a kilim.

01Up close to the pattern

The weft is packed hard against the warp until the cloth itself is the pattern, and the same drawing comes up on both faces. Senneh work is known for fineness — a tighter weft and smaller motifs than most village flatweaves — and the color here runs across the whole register rather than settling into a scheme.

02Color, by the light

Reds meet greens meet blues, and because the piece has age on it the dyes have already done most of their moving, so the tones now sit together in a way a new kilim's do not. Wool takes the weft and the color; cotton takes the warp and the strength. It is listed among the house's rare pieces, and rare here describes supply rather than urgency — older kilims in this condition come out of the trade a few at a time.

03Knot by knot, by hand

Being old, it carries the wear of use: a flatweave has no pile to disguise thinning, so the honest description is that this is a used textile, not an unused one. Professional washing, and no household cleaning at all. Handwoven flatweave — wool weft on a cotton warp. Senneh drawing: fine weave, small motifs, no pile. Multicolor, with the tones already settled by age. Woven in the Middle East; an older piece, not new production. Reversible — the pattern reads on both faces. Shows the wear that comes with age; a flatweave cannot hide it. Professional washing only. A single rare piece. What makes a kilim a Senneh kilim? Senneh, now Sanandaj in western Iran, produced flatweaves woven finer than most village work, with small motifs and a tightly packed weft.

04The mark of slow weaving

The name describes that standard of weaving rather than a single pattern, and it has been used in the rug trade for well over a century. How is a kilim different from a knotted rug? A kilim has no pile. The weft threads are packed down over the warp so the pattern is built into the structure itself, which makes the textile thin, light, reversible and considerably harder to weave without the drawing going crooked. It has already outlasted the household it was woven for, which is the only recommendation a textile like this needs.