Brown Vintage Hand-Knotted Square Wool Rug, Retro Series

Square rugs are uncommon and this is a true square: 240 × 240 cm (7'10" × 7'10"), hand-knotted in brown for the Retro series, its Oushak motifs recolored into a contemporary palette. Wool and cotton, tied in Pakistan and Afghanistan, one piece. A square changes the arithmetic of a room.

01A line from the archive

There is no long axis to line the furniture up against, so a seating group arranged on it turns inward instead of facing one way, and the pattern arrives the same from all four sides. The Oushak drawing has been pulled into brown values throughout, and the finishing wash used across the series leaves the pile bright enough that the rug lifts a dim room rather than darkening it further. Master weavers in Afghanistan and Pakistan tie the whole series by hand, at a high knot count, over a thin structure of cotton and wool with a small quantity of recycled synthetic yarn worked into the skeleton for strength.

02How it feels underfoot

Everything underfoot is wool. Two things follow from a square of this size: it is heavy, and there is no obvious way to hang it. Professional washing. Hand-knotted in Pakistan and Afghanistan at a high knot count. Cotton and wool structure with a trace of recycled synthetic yarn in the skeleton; the pile is wool. Traditional Oushak motifs recolored into brown throughout. A bright surface from the series' finishing wash, so it lightens a room rather than darkening it. 240 × 240 cm (7'10" × 7'10"), a true square, which turns a seating group inward. Heavy for its footprint, and awkward to hang. Professional washing. Put four chairs around it and the room stops having a front.