Faded Blue Oushak-Pattern Hand-Knotted Wool Rug

Months at the loom and knots numbering in the tens of thousands stand behind this piece: a hand-knotted rug in wool over cotton, 243 × 294 cm (8'0" × 9'8") — a little over seven square meters — with Oushak motifs drawn in soft outline across a pale blue field that runs into beige. The blue is the color of a summer evening after the heat has gone out of it, cool without being cold, and the beige mixed into it keeps the whole surface from reading as a solid block.

01Reading the motif

Motifs are set with rounded rather than sharp contours, so the pattern reveals itself gradually — the longer the rug is in a room the more of it you see. There is nothing showy in the drawing.

02From the hand of the weaver

Against walnut or solid timber furniture the neutral transitions in the field pick up the wood and settle beside it. Knotted entirely by hand in India from natural cotton and wool, one loop at a time, over months. The knot count is what holds the composition together at this scale, and it is also what makes a rug of this size lie flat and stay square.

03The Wool on the surface

Wool is the surface and cotton the foundation, stated separately because they do different jobs. It is easy to keep clean day to day; for its long life it wants professional attention rather than domestic treatments.

04Knot by knot, by hand

At just under seven and a half square meters it will sit under a full seating group with room to spare. Hand-knotted in India from cotton and wool, over months at the loom. 243 × 294 cm (8'0" × 9'8"), roughly 7.15 m². Wool pile on a cotton foundation. Faded gray-blue field with beige and cream motifs in soft outline. Knots in the tens of thousands, which is why the drawing holds at this size. Sits comfortably under a seating group, a large dining table or in a wide bedroom. Simple daily care; professional cleaning for anything more. Classical Oushak drawing with the volume turned down, which is why it works in rooms that would refuse an actual antique.