Workshop weaving of this scale and density survives because the visual logic was right from the start. A central composition. A disciplined border. A palette that ages rather than fades. The descendants of those workshops continue to weave in the same vocabulary, on the same kind of vertical loom, for the same reason the pattern survives.

A single weaver carried the loom for 3 months on this piece. Approximately 522,000 hand-tied knots at around 145 per square inch on a cotton foundation. Hand-spun wool dyed in small lots from madder, indigo, oak gall, and walnut hull, each batch matured for two to three weeks in copper vats before the wool was lowered.

The composition

Hooked guls march down the centre of the field. The red grounds the composition; the ivory works as relief above it. The palette settles into the deep saturations that vegetable dye holds without ever flattening. A vegetable-dyed wool rug does not arrive complete; it arrives ready to settle.

What you are buying

Antique Heriz and Serapi pieces with comparable drawing and condition trade at international auction in the range of $15,000 to $40,000. New weaving in the same tradition, to the same density, on a cotton foundation, exists for a fraction of that number because the production economy is intact. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating.

The piece in a room

At 2'6" × 10' (76 × 305 cm) the piece is a long runner. It carries a corridor, a galley kitchen, the foot of a long bed, or a stair landing where furniture is not meant to interrupt it. The red reads as a continuous line across the length rather than as a centred composition.

Conservation

Rotate twice a year. Vacuum suction only. Blot spills, never rub. Keep the rug out of permanent damp and away from radiators. Hand-wash every five years by a conservator who understands wool and vegetable dye. The rug will run a century and pass to the next generation.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 76 × 305 cm (2'6" × 10')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Knot density: ~145 KPSI
• Total knot count: ~522,000
• Hands: 1 weaver, 3 months
• Pile: 10 mm, hand-spun wool
• Dye: vegetable (madder, indigo, oak gall, walnut hull)
• Origin: India

Free UK delivery. 14-day returns. Authentic hand-knotted craftsmanship.