Old Kordi | 197 x 119 cm | Nr. Z-4650

Old Kordi

Delivery time	2 days
Origin	Kurdistan
Dimensions	197 cm x 119 cm (= 2.34 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: goat wool
knots	60.000
Year of manufacture	1940
Condition	pre-owned, but in very good condition (cleaned & restored)
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Kordi (also Kord or Kurdi) is a collective term for rugs from Iran that are hand-knotted by Kurds. Koliai and Khorasan rugs are therefore, if you like, Kordi rugs too. As a rule, Kurdi rugs come from the Khorasan province. Less often they also come from the Turkmen-Afghan region.

In their rug knotting, the Kurds draw on every one of the classic provenances (source, origin). They don't copy the traditional patterns slavishly, though, but reinterpret them in their own distinctive way. The colouring in particular often departs considerably from the original patterns. That's why you'll find the most varied designs among Kordi rugs, though usually in a rather dark palette.

This old Kordi is around 86 years old and a true collector's piece.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Old Kordi is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant 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 is not too pale, you even need two kilograms of weld dye per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is time-consuming and labour-intensive too. And fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural oil content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates 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 style.

The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Old Kordi was made from goat wool.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Old Kordi. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. The fringes could do with a repair. The edges are damaged in places. The pile has become a little thinner in places over the years. It was knotted around 1940. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.