Cream Oushak Carved Handwoven Wool Rug, Safir Series

Every motif has been cut down at its edges with hand shears after weaving, so the pattern stands above the ground and casts a small shadow of its own. Cream Oushak Carved Handwoven Wool Rug, Safir series — wool and cotton with bamboo viscose, made in India, at 95 × 160 cm and 135 × 190 cm (3'1" × 5'3" and 4'5" × 6'3"). Cream is the hardest ground for carved work, because there is no contrast to help the drawing and the relief has to do all of it.

01The origin of the pattern

It does: pass a palm over it and the motifs register before the eye has found them. The Oushak forms are the classical western Anatolian ones, redrawn in pastel rather than in the old madder reds, so the rug keeps the shape of a traditional piece and takes the color of a new one.

02Knot by knot, by hand

Bamboo viscose catches light in the figures and makes them read against the cream. A high knot count is what the carving requires — shears cannot cut a clean line into a loose weave. Wool and cotton form the pile itself; the bamboo viscose sits inside the pattern.

03How many centimeters, which room

Both sizes are small enough that the carved detail gets looked at instead of walked over. A carved surface should never meet a stiff brush, because the cut edges are the first thing to wear. Washing is best left to a rug specialist. Handwoven in India; the pile is wool and cotton, the motifs bamboo viscose. Motifs carved in relief with hand shears after weaving. Classical Oushak drawing in pastel rather than madder tones. High knot count, which is what allows a clean carved line. 95 × 160 cm and 135 × 190 cm (3'1" × 5'3" and 4'5" × 6'3"). No stiff brushes on the carved edges. Washing by a rug specialist. What does "carved" mean on a rug? Once the rug leaves the loom, a craftsman trims the pile down along the outline of every motif with hand shears.

04How it feels underfoot

The pattern is left standing slightly above the surrounding ground, so it catches light and throws a shadow line that dyeing alone could not produce. What is bamboo viscose? Bamboo viscose is a regenerated cellulose yarn spun from bamboo pulp. It is used in the motifs because it takes light much as silk does, giving the pattern a sheen against the matt wool of the ground. It is a plant-derived fiber rather than an animal one. Relief is the one thing a photograph of a rug cannot show, which is why this series is better in a hallway than in a catalog.