Belutsch | 184 x 108 cm | Nr. Z-1495

Geometric Belutsch, dusky pink with diamonds and border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	184 cm x 108 cm (= 1.99 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	300.000
Pile height	4mm
Year of manufacture	1980
Colour	Dusky pink, dark blue
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Belutsch is a rug provenance in the region between Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Belutsch rugs (also Belutsch, Beloutch, Beluch, Baluch, Belutch, Balouch, Baloutche or Balúchi) are made by semi-nomads and nomads. Originally, Belutsch rugs were knotted exclusively by the Baluch nomads. Today, however, a number of other tribes knot Belutsch rugs as well. The patterns tend to be geometric and the palette is kept in shades of red and brown. Mostly small rugs and mats are produced, as these are also used by the nomads themselves and are easier to transport.

Pattern

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Belutsch its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of the room and never steals attention from the furniture, the decor or the architectural elements. It creates a pleasant atmosphere without dominating the style of the room.

In the pattern of this Belutsch it is above all the diamonds that catch the eye. A diamond is a rhombus standing on one of its points, and in the Oriental rug its four equal sides may be serrated, stepped or set with hooks. The diamond is one of the oldest basic forms in the Oriental rug. In the Islamic world it carries a symbolic meaning: it stands for the immortality of the soul. That is why it is so often found as a filler motif.

The edge of the rug is framed by a decorative border. The border forms a beautiful contrast with the centre.

The background of this Belutsch is dusky pink. The border is worked in dusky pink, dark brown and dark blue.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Belutsch. It has had owners before you who valued it and put it to use. It was hand-knotted around 1980. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but only partly restored condition. The fringes could do with a repair. The pile has thinned evenly over time. We have not fully restored this Belutsch because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course gladly take the restoration further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

The technique used to produce the materials for the pile of this Belutsch 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: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that is naturally dyed and hand-spun creates fascinating, shifting 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 Belutsch is made of new wool.