Beige Oushak Hand-Knotted Wool and Silk Round Rug, Jaipur Series

Round rugs are difficult in hand-knotting because a loom is square and every row has to be counted out to a curve: a beige Oushak-pattern rug from the Jaipur series, 180 × 183 cm (5'11" × 6'0"), wool pile on a cotton foundation with real silk reserved for the motifs, tied in India.

01Which tone on the ground

One of one. Beige and earth tones share the ground. Inside them the flowers are drawn small and lit with brighter color, so the middle of the circle reads like a framed picture rather than as a repeat, while the outer band is where the traditional Oushak forms sit, filled in with more detail than the field carries.

02The Wool on the surface

Because silk answers light on a different axis from the wool next to it, the motifs brighten and fade as you walk around the piece, which is most of the argument for a circle in the first place. Jaipur Rugs tied this one over months at a density the trade writes as 14 by 14 — fourteen knots across and fourteen down in each measured unit, which is close enough packing that a curve can be drawn without breaking into steps. Wool makes the field, cotton makes the foundation, and the silk is genuine, put in only where the drawing has to catch light.

03The tone of the ground

Under a round table it vanishes beneath the chairs; in an entrance hall it is the first thing anyone sees. Hand-knotted in India by Jaipur Rugs over a period of months. Wool pile on a cotton foundation, with real silk used in the motifs alone. Knotted at 14 by 14, which is what allows a curved outline to stay smooth. Beige and earth tones in the ground, with brighter color in the flower heads. 180 × 183 cm (5'11" × 6'0"), a near-circle for a round table or a square hall. Silk marks more readily than wool, so keep it away from a dining chair leg. Professional washing only. What does a knot count of 14 by 14 mean? It describes how many knots are tied across and down within one measured unit of the weave.

04The mark of slow weaving

At 14 by 14 the knots sit close enough that a curved line can be drawn without breaking into visible steps, which is why the flower heads on this rug keep their shape. Where does a round rug belong? Under a round table, in a square entrance hall, or in the middle of a room with no strong direction to it.

05Where it sits in the house

A circle has no head and no foot, so it will not tell the furniture which way to face, and it reads as a deliberate choice rather than as floor covering. It is the rare rug that improves a room by having no corners in it at all.