Kashmir rug | 153 x 92 cm | Nr. Z-3726

Floral Kashmir rug, dusky pink with border and panel pattern

Origin	Kashmir
Dimensions	153 cm x 92 cm (= 1.41 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: mercerised cotton Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	360.000
Pile height	4mm
Year of manufacture	2005
Colour	Dusky pink, Turquoise
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

 

Origin

The mountainous land of Kashmir in the Himalayas is divided: one third belongs to Pakistan as a province, while the other two thirds form the union state of "Jammu and Kashmir", which is part of India. The population of the larger union state is predominantly Muslim and seeks independence. The hand-knotted rugs come exclusively from the Indian part of Kashmir and are knotted mainly in the provincial capital Srinagar and the surrounding area. Kashmir's silk rugs are famous, and they are usually made on a cotton foundation.

The colours of Kashmir rugs are rather restrained, and the patterns are influenced by traditional Persian designs. This goes back a long way, as the Mughal emperors (1526-1857) once brought Persian rug knotters to their court in India. That is why people also speak of the Indo-Persian style. Another legend, however, has it that in 1398 the tribute-paying Sultan of Kashmir had to send his son as a hostage to Timur Lenk (Tamerlane) in Samarkand. There the young prince came to know the craft of knotting and, on his return, introduced it in Kashmir together with knotters from Samarkand.

 

Pattern

The so-called panel pattern of this Kashmir rug recalls a lushly planted garden with geometrically laid-out beds, each individually framed. This design is so characteristic that panel-pattern rugs are also known as garden rugs in German. The individual compartments in the pattern of this Kashmir rug show different motifs, yet follow a strictly symmetrical, rectangular arrangement.

There is a reason for this: large parts of Persia and many other regions of the Middle and Near East are desert- or steppe-like arid areas, where so-called irrigation horticulture is widely practised. Water is channelled to the beds through small irrigation canals. The panel pattern renders this irrigation system in heavily simplified form. Because of the dryness in these regions, blooming and verdant gardens are also something quite special. The panel pattern therefore probably goes back to the wish to bring a little garden – and with it a small paradise – into the home. In the Koran the term garden, as the earthly counterpart to paradise – a word of Old Persian origin, incidentally – appears very frequently.

The overall impression is dominated by dusky pink and turquoise. The border is worked in dusky pink and a mix of bright colours.

 

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Kashmir rug. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. It was hand-knotted around 2005. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good condition. The pile has grown thinner in places. If you would like us to, we will of course happily restore the rug for you. Either way, this Kashmir rug will give you pleasure for decades to come.

 

Material

The pile of this Kashmir rug is made of mercerised cotton. Cotton consists of lustrous fibres filled with cell sap. When the sap dries after the harvest, the surface of the fibre curls and loses its sheen because of the way light is then refracted. In the middle of the 19th century, John Mercer invented the process that bears his name: mercerisation. During mercerisation the cotton is held under tension in cold, concentrated caustic soda and takes on a new, higher-grade fibre structure. Mercerised cotton has shortened fibres with a round cross-section. The refined fabric no longer shrinks and holds its shape extremely well. Thanks to the altered refraction of light, the fibre gains a silky sheen. Mercerised cotton also takes up dye more readily and is considerably more tear-resistant than untreated cotton. Because mercerisation is elaborate and costly, only high-quality cotton fibres are refined in this way. Owing to the silky sheen of the yarn, mercerised cotton – like viscose – is often referred to as "artificial silk". However, the colloquial term "artificial silk" is not permitted under the German Textile Labelling Act (TKG). The weft and warp threads of this Kashmir rug are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it particularly suitable for a hard-wearing foundation.