Yellow Oushak Hand-Knotted Wool Rug, Şahzade Series

The yellow leans orange — a saturated mustard rather than a bright one, which is the difference between a rug that can be lived with and one that cannot. Yellow Oushak Hand-Knotted Wool Rug, Şahzade Series: classical Oushak drawing over that ground, navy and sea-green medallions set into it, wool knotted by hand in Afghanistan, 241 × 303 cm (7'11" × 9'11"). Fine branch and leaf work runs the length of the field, and the round medallions are dropped into it at intervals, each carrying small flowers inside.

01Up close to the pattern

A narrow border keeps the same yellow, so the frame calms the composition instead of adding to it, and a striped edging and multicolored fringes finish the piece. Put a navy or petrol-blue velvet chair on it, hang gilt-framed mirrors, and the room is formal; lay it on honey-toned boards and the warmth doubles.

02At the loom in in Afghanistan

This is a rug for someone who is not nervous about color. Afghanistan has been knotting rugs for centuries and the Şahzade series is the recent end of that line — authentic drawing, modern coloring, every piece different because every piece was made by a person.

03What the yarn is

The surface is entirely wool, so what a hand meets is wool and nothing else. Below the pile, cotton makes the base, together with a little recycled synthetic thread for tensile strength. The knot is doubled, which is why production runs to months, and the pile is cropped close, so it sheds very little.

04Color that shifts through the day

Not a rug to wash at home. Hand-knotted in Afghanistan with doubled knots; months per piece. Wool surface; cotton base carrying a little recycled synthetic thread. A saturated mustard ground that leans toward orange. Classical Oushak branch work with navy and sea-green medallions. A narrow border in the same yellow, a striped edging, multicolored fringes. 241 × 303 cm (7'11" × 9'11") — a large sitting room or a dining room. Close-cropped pile that sheds very little. Not a rug to wash at home. Yellow floors are rare because most yellows are impatient; this one has enough orange in it to be tolerable at eight in the morning.