Multicolor Floral Hand-Knotted Wool Rug, Mihman Series

There are birds in it. Multicolor Floral Hand-Knotted Wool Rug, Mihman Series — orange and russet branches spreading over a brown-mink ground, with birds, small animals, flowers and leaves scattered through them in blue, red, white and green.

01The mark of slow weaving

Knotted wholly by hand in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, 275 × 360 cm (9'0" × 11'10"). One piece. The branching is what organizes it. Everything grows out of the boughs rather than sitting on the ground independently, so a field this crowded still has a direction to travel in. Nothing repeats exactly, which means the eye keeps finding something it has not already seen.

02After the color

Multicolored fringes finish the ends and belong to the drawing rather than to the edge. With plain linen and cotton seating, cane or rattan furniture and botanical prints on the wall it makes immediate sense; a room that already has plants in it is where it belongs. About 2,000 knots go into every ten square centimeters.

03Up close to the pattern

That density is the signature of the series and the reason the small figures keep their outlines instead of blurring into color. Everything the hand meets is wool. Under it the base is cotton apart from a small share of recycled synthetic yarn, which is there to hold tension; the proportion is too slight to alter the character of the rug, and we mention it regardless. Months of patient work per piece.

04How many centimeters, which room

At nearly ten square meters this rug sets the plan of the room, so measure before ordering. Vacuum regularly, and leave a deep clean to a professional. Made wholly by hand in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. About 2,000 knots per ten square centimeters — the density the series is known for. Wool pile; the base is cotton apart from a small share of recycled synthetic yarn. Branches in orange and russet over brown-mink, with birds, animals and flowers among them. Multicolored fringes at both ends. 275 × 360 cm (9'0" × 11'10") — a large sitting room or a reception hall. Months of weaving per piece. Vacuum regularly; a deep clean goes to a professional. How dense is the weave? About 2,000 knots are tied into every ten square centimeters, which is what the Mihman series is known for.

05What the yarn is

At that density the birds, flowers and small animals in the field keep clean outlines, and the rug holds its shape over decades rather than years. Is the whole rug wool? The pile is wool throughout, so everything underfoot is wool. Beneath it the base is cotton apart from a small share of recycled synthetic yarn, which holds tension. Those are two separate structures and we describe them separately. A field this full of living things is a strange thing to walk on, and after a week it is the reason nobody in the house looks at the walls.