Gray Vintage-Pattern Handwoven Wool Rug, Maison Series

Think of a color photograph that has spent a summer facing a window: a vintage pattern faded down to mink and cream, with copper coming back through it where the drawing was strongest. Maison Series handwoven rug, 204 × 298 cm (6'8" × 9'9"), wool and viscose laid over a cotton warp, made in India. The gray here is not a cool gray. It sits on the warm side, close to mink, and the cream passages breaking it up are nearer to sand than to white.

01Where the Medallion comes from

Copper is the only saturated color in the piece and there is not much of it — a few lines through the medallion and a run along the inner border. Beside walnut or a gray sofa the rug stays quiet; beside pale oak the copper is the first thing the eye finds. Weavers in India make the Maison rugs by hand, and the yarn changes job as the drawing changes: wool carries the ground, while the viscose and bamboo viscose go into the motifs, where their shine gives the pattern a depth wool cannot.

02What the yarn is

A cotton warp runs beneath. The weave is close, and you notice it the moment a corner comes off the floor — a rug this size at this density is not something one person shifts alone. Handwoven in India. Wool ground with viscose and bamboo viscose in the motifs; cotton warp. 204 × 298 cm (6'8" × 9'9"). A faded vintage drawing in mink and cream, with copper lines through the center. Densely woven, and heavy for its size. Made for a living room, a dining room or a bedroom. Professional washing. Faded patterns are easier to live beside than sharp ones, and this one will go on fading in the direction it has already chosen.