Kashmir rug | 226 x 140 cm | Nr. Z-4627

Floral Kashmir rug, rust red with border and medallion

Origin	Kashmir
Dimensions	226 cm x 140 cm (= 3.16 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	360.000
Pile height	6mm
Year of manufacture	1985
Colour	Rust red, 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 decorated surround (border) forms a wonderful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

At the heart of the central field of this Kashmir rug lies the symmetrical centre, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, so that the medallion seems to float on the field.

The lush floral motifs of this Kashmir rug are elegant and full of variety. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

The background of this Kashmir rug is rust red. The border is worked in turquoise, dark blue and rust red.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Kashmir rug. It had owners before you who valued it and used it. The fringes could do with a repair. The edges are damaged in places. Here and there you can see a few white threads. That is quite normal in older rugs. They are the knot ends of the weft and warp weave, which work their way to the surface over the years. In substance this is no great problem. Prolonged exposure to sunlight has shifted the colours a little. The pile is worn down in places. It was hand-knotted around 1985. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. It is therefore – despite its age – in very good condition.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this Kashmir rug is over 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 isn't too pale you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is time-consuming and labour-intensive as well. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still master the craft of spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyed with natural dyes, the high-quality wool keeps its natural oils. Wool dyed with natural dyes 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 just as much in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. 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 suited to a hard-wearing foundation weave.