Mahal | 358 x 79 cm | Nr. 14765

Floral Mahal runner, beige with border

Origin	Pakistan
Dimensions	358 cm x 79 cm (= 2.83 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	160.000
Pile height	6mm
Condition	new
Colour	Beige, light red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Mahal is a western Persian rug provenance, named after the town of Mahallat and the province of the same name.

From the 1870s onwards, the Mahallat region around the town of Sultanabad (formerly Arak) grew into an important centre for knotting Persian rugs for export. A key role in this was played by the English import house Messrs. Ziegler & Co. Ltd., run by a Swiss merchant, which opened a branch in Mahallat in 1883.

The rugs known as Farahan, Mahal, Ziegler-Mahal or simply Ziegler were knotted in the surrounding villages to Western colour and pattern specifications. This blend of European design briefs in a lighter, calmer palette with classic patterns in the style of Farahan and Sultanabad rugs was very well received in Europe.

The success was enormous, and Ziegler rugs became an international mark of quality. The exquisite flow of the many-petalled flowers is particularly impressive in Ziegler rugs. Well-preserved antique Ziegler rugs fetch record prices today – above all in the USA. For some years now, these antique Ziegler designs have been re-knotted in high quality in Pakistan and India.

The newly issued Ziegler rugs, made from hand-spun wool dyed with natural colours, are part of a revival of hand-knotted rugs. This return to traditional techniques began in the early 1980s, driven not least by the so-called DOBAG initiative. At first the reproductions focused on the Ziegler rugs described above. In time, almost every traditional Persian pattern was being reproduced. The result: adaptations of antique rugs alongside contemporary designs with the charm of an antique piece.

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Mahal are elegantly drawn and full of variety. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

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

The repeating elements of this Mahal rug have no specific centre. The recurring repeat pattern feels calming without ever becoming dull. Rugs with a repeat pattern are also described as all-over patterned.

The background of this Mahal is beige. The border is worked in light red and beige.

Material

The technique used to prepare the materials for the pile of this Mahal is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours 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 instance, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale, it even takes two kilograms of the dyestuff dyer's 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 art of spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that is naturally dyed and hand-spun produces fascinating patterns that shimmer and shift. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, unfolds as a contrast in modern interiors, but just as well in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The weft and warp threads of this Mahal are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and stretchy, which makes it particularly well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.