Red Oushak-Pattern Handwoven Wool Rug, Şahzade Series

The oldest surviving knotted rug in the world, the Pazyryk in the Hermitage, is where the Şahzade Series says it starts. This one is a handwoven Oushak-pattern rug in red wool, 172 × 240 cm (5'8" × 7'10") — tied with the double knot on traditional looms in Afghanistan.

01The origin of the pattern

A single piece. Red carries the whole field, and floral forms spread across it with blue and green worked through them so that the pattern moves rather than sits. The colors are strong without being loud: the blue is deep enough to hold its own against the red, and the green appears in small quantities, mostly in the leaf work.

02From ground to pile

Oushak drawing is what gives the motifs their scale — large, generous, readable from a doorway, unlike the fine Persian repertoires that ask you to stand over them. Every part of the surface a foot touches is wool. Cotton runs through the spine to carry the tension, and a trace of synthetic yarn keeps the rug flexible and square through years of use.

03Coming off the loom

It was knotted in Afghanistan with the double knot, which is slow work: months went into a rug of this size, one loop at a time. At 172 × 240 cm it suits a mid-sized sitting room, a bedroom, or a hall wide enough to take it. Have it washed professionally rather than cleaned at home. Handwoven on traditional looms in Afghanistan, double knot throughout. Months of weaving for one rug of this size. Wool over the entire walking surface; cotton spine with a trace of synthetic yarn. Red ground with floral motifs in blue and green. Oushak drawing — large-scale motifs, legible from across a room. 172 × 240 cm (5'8" × 7'10"): a mid-sized sitting room or a bedroom. Professional washing. One piece. The pattern has outlived several empires; a red sitting room is not a long assignment by comparison.