Antique Malayer | 452 x 112 cm | Nr. Z-550

All-over patterned antique Malayer runner, terracotta with border

Origin

Malayer is the second-largest city in the province of Hamadan in western Iran and is known for its rug workshops. Malayer lies between Hamadan and Khorramabad, 380 km south-west of Tehran. Today's city of Malayer was founded in 1808 under the name Daulatabad, in order to bring the restless region along the Zagros Mountains under the control of the Persian state. This antique Malayer is a collector's piece. It is around 90 years old and a genuinely special piece for that reason alone. Antique rugs like this Malayer are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

The repeating elements of this Malayer rug have no specific centre. The recurring repeat pattern feels calming, yet never dull. Rugs with a repeat pattern are also described as all-over patterned.

The decorated surround (border) forms a beautiful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

The background of this Malayer is dark blue. The overall impression is dominated by terracotta and dark blue as well. The border is kept in terracotta.

Condition

This Malayer has a story to tell. It was hand-knotted around 1930. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but unrestored condition. The pile is worn in places. The edges are damaged in parts. The fringes could do with a repair. On one side, parts of the border are missing. The rug has a tear measuring 10 - 20 cm in length. We have not restored this Malayer, because we feel it has a special presence exactly as it is. If that is what you would like, we are of course happy to restore the rug for you. Either way, this Malayer will give you pleasure for decades to come.

Material

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

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that is dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shifting patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, unfolds 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 Malayer is made of new wool.