Circles drawn at a domestic scale have a quiet history in twentieth-century textile design, from the Wiener Werkstätte through the post-war Scandinavian studios to the British and American mid-century pattern designers. The vocabulary on this rug sits in that lineage. Overlapping circles in shades of grey, light grey, soft ivory, and small spots of black, drawn loose enough to read as composition rather than as a strict repeat.

Two to three weavers worked the loom for roughly four and a half months. The pile is hand-spun wool, tied in the Persian asymmetric knot. The drawing was scaled directly from a studio cartoon, with each circle hand-tied rather than copied from a printed template. Dye work was done in small open vats so the four greys carry the slight tonal variation that distinguishes hand-dyed wool from yarn-dyed factory yarn. The pile was sheared to ten millimetres in two finishing passes.

The composition

Loose overlapping circles in grey, light grey, soft ivory, and isolated black incidents. The composition reads as drawing in the manner of mid-century studio prints. The colour relationships are quiet; nothing in the palette competes with the architecture of the room, but the geometry holds the eye in close inspection. Over the first decade the greys soften toward each other and the ivory warms slightly, deepening the relationship.

What you are buying

Designer-pattern hand-knotted carpets at this scale and in this fibre trade through the contemporary art-rug dealers in the eight to fifteen thousand dollar band. This is a current weaving on a hand-built loom in hand-spun wool. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating; the studio work it descends from is collected at the same level as the design objects of the period.

The piece in a room

5' × 8' (152 × 244 cm) suits a primary bedroom, a study, or a small living space. The grey palette holds confidently against pale walls and reads as architecture against deeper grey or charcoal walls. Pairs with raw oak, brushed steel, blackened bronze, and warm linen. The geometry holds at a distance and reveals on approach.

Conservation

Rotate every six months so the field ages evenly. Weekly vacuum, beater bar off. Blot spills with clean cotton from outside in. Wool-trained conservator wash every five to seven years protects the dye and the foundation.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 152 × 244 cm (5' × 8')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 2-3 weavers, ~4.5 months
• Pile: 10 mm wool
• Origin: India

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