The Arts and Crafts rug traces to William Morris and his circle in late-Victorian England. Morris and his daughter May rejected the machine-loomed medallion carpets of the period for hand-knotted rugs in slow, plant-derived colour and stylised botanical pattern, drawn from the medieval English garden rather than from Persian sources.

Three weavers at the tufting frame for three to four months, with a finisher working behind them. The yarn was prepared in the same workshop where the rug was made; the small-batch dye process gives the surface its slight tonal drift. The back was sealed in latex with a cotton scrim, then the field was sheared at finish for an even pile and washed to settle the dye.

The composition

The work is built on a multi-toned palette. The geometry is sized for room scale, not for the photograph. Across distance the field reads as a single colour with movement inside it; on close approach the small variations in tone and weave become visible as the trace of a slow, hand-dyed process. The piece is built to be lived with rather than displayed, and it will deepen in colour and tighten in feel across its first year on the floor. The piece is built to be lived with rather than displayed and will continue to settle across the first year of use.

The piece in a room

At 8' x 10' the rug carries a primary living arrangement or a king-size bed framed by side tables and an upholstered bench at the foot. The composition is sized to be read whole from the doorway and rewards close approach in equal measure. Pale walls let the field lift forward; mid-tone walls let it settle into the architecture as a quieter ground.

Care

The piece needs gentle weekly vacuuming, suction only, and prompt blotting of any spill with a clean dry cloth. Loose fibre will clear from the surface across the first six to eight weeks of use; this is a property of the tufting process and not a flaw in the rug. Have the piece professionally dry-cleaned every two to three years.

Reference

• Medium: hand-tufted wool, latex bonded with cotton scrim
• Dimensions: 8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm)
• Construction: hand-tufted through stretched canvas, sheared finish
• Hands: 3 tufters and a finisher, three to four months
• Pile: 12 mm, hand-spun wool
• Origin: India

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