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. 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. 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. 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. 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.