Old Duschelmat | 166 x 114 cm | Nr. Z-3336

Geometric old Duschelmat, light red with border

Origin	Turkey
Dimensions	166 cm x 114 cm (= 1.8924 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	160.000
Pile height	6mm
Year of manufacture	1930
Colour	Light red, multicoloured
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

This Duschelmat rug belongs to the family of Caucasian rugs. Rugs have been made in the Caucasus since the end of the 18th century. They are characterised by abstract geometric tribal patterns in muted ochre tones. This old Duschelmat is around 90 years old and a real collector's favourite.

Pattern

The edge of the rug is graced by a surround (border). The border forms a wonderful contrast to the centre.

The abstract, geometric composition gives this Duschelmat its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of the room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the decor and the architectural details. It settles beautifully into any setting and complements a room's furnishings in a subtle way.

The background of this Duschelmat is light red. The border is kept in bright colours.

Condition

This Duschelmat has a history. It was hand-knotted around 1930. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but unrestored condition. The fringes could do with a repair. We have not restored this Duschelmat because we feel it has a special charm exactly as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course gladly restore the rug for you. Either way, this Duschelmat will give you pleasure for decades to come.

Material

The technique used to produce the materials for the pile of this Duschelmat is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is labour-intensive and time-consuming too. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyed with natural colours, the high-quality wool keeps its natural lanolin content. Wool dyed with natural colours and spun by hand produces fascinating, shimmering patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country-house style. The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Duschelmat is made of new wool.