Ziegler | 284 x 200 cm | Nr. Z-2181

Floral Ziegler, beige with border

Origin	Pakistan
Dimensions	284 cm x 200 cm (= 5.68 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) & viscose Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	120.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	2018
Colour	Beige, dark red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

In 1883, a Swiss merchant by the name of Ziegler founded an English import house called Company Messrs. Ziegler & Co. Ltd. in Manchester, England, and at the same time a rug manufactory in Sultanabad (today Arak, Iran) in the Mahallat region.

This is one reason why the area around the city of Sultanabad grew into an important centre for knotting Persian export rugs. The rugs known as Ziegler-Mahal, or simply Ziegler, were knotted in the surrounding villages to Western specifications for colour and pattern. This mixture of European design briefs in a lighter, calmer palette with classic patterns in the style of Farahan and Sultanabad rugs went down very well 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 ornate border forms a wonderful contrast with the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

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

The background of this Ziegler is beige. The border is kept in dark red.

Condition

This Ziegler was loved by others before you. It was hand-knotted around 2018. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.

Material

The pile of this Ziegler is made from a hard-wearing blend of hand-spun wool and viscose.

Viscose – also known as acetate silk or rayon – is always made from cellulose, a natural product, and therefore from wood as its raw material. In India, the cellulose pulp is obtained from bamboo. In an elaborate process, the pulpy cellulose is drawn out into one continuous textile yarn. That is why viscose is also referred to as a continuous filament yarn. Because of the silky sheen of the yarn, viscose made from bamboo is also called "bamboo silk". The colloquial term "artificial silk" is not permitted under the German Textile Labelling Act (TKG).

The technique used to prepare the wool for the pile of this Ziegler is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant dyes is more involved, 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 is not too pale, you even need two kilograms of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is labour-intensive and slow work too. What is more, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours allows the high-quality wool to keep its natural oil content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours 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 equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style.

The weft and warp threads of this Ziegler are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and stretchy, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation weave.