Mamlouk | 281 x 210 cm | Nr. Z-1984

Mottled Mamlouk, beige with border and medallion

Origin	Pakistan
Dimensions	281 cm x 210 cm (= 5.90 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	250.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	2022
Colour	Beige
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Mamlouk rugs (occasionally spelled Mamluk) were knotted in Egypt above all in the 15th century and are found almost exclusively in museums today. This Mamlouk rug is a new take on the classic pattern, which is defined by a wealth of different geometric shapes that give the rug a kaleidoscopic effect.

Pattern

The surface of this Mamlouk has a mottled look. The shifts in tone and the light-and-dark shading of the pile yarn make the colours shimmer and keep the rug forgiving when it comes to dirt. These colour shifts, known as abrash, give the rug a livelier appearance. The mottling comes about because the wool of this Mamlouk was hand-spun. During dyeing, the natural pigments are absorbed to differing degrees.

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

At the heart of the central field of this Mamlouk lies the symmetrical centre, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, so that the medallion appears to float upon the field.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Mamlouk its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the design of the room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the decorative pieces and the architectural details. It fits beautifully into any setting and complements a room's furnishings in a subtle way.

The colour of this Mamlouk is beige.

Material

The technique used to prepare the materials for the pile of this Mamlouk is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based colours is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical dyes. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff for every kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, it even takes two kilos of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as slow and labour-intensive. And fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort pays off: because it is dyed with natural colours, the high-quality wool keeps its natural lanolin content. Wool 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 style. The weft and warp threads of this Mamlouk are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and stretchy, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation weave.