12' x 18'1" Jaipur Rug | Burgundy Field with Near-Black Floral Border | Antique Agra Design

Rug 6336 is a true palace piece: 12' x 18'1", hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation in Jaipur, and drawn from an antique Agra pattern rather than a modern adaptation of one. The pile is full and untouched from end to end, the selvedges are tight, and the corners resolve cleanly, which is harder to achieve than it sounds on a loom this wide. Hand-knotted work in the oversize 12 x 18 rugs range is uncommon because a single team has to stay with one loom, one cartoon and one yarn lot for years at a stretch. It ships with a certificate of authenticity recording origin, materials, knotting and measurements.

Design and Motifs

There is no central medallion here. The field carries a full all-over floral design built on a lattice of ivory vine stems that arc, split and rejoin down the whole 18'1" length, mirrored left to right on the center axis. Hung on that vine are serrated palmettes, split leaves and lotus heads: large sage green and celadon palmettes with dark outlines, copper rose shield forms with pale centers, and small 8 petal rosettes scattered between the stems. The main border is a classic Agra rhythm of big ivory and gold palmette rosettes alternating with leafy sprays, each one anchored by a burgundy heart, and it is framed on both sides by gold guard bands filled with paired green leaf hooks and small cross rosettes. Look at the corners in the close-up photos: the border drawing turns and completes itself instead of being chopped off, which is the tell of a properly plotted cartoon.

A Study in Burgundy, Black and Gold

The field is a deep wine burgundy with a slight plum cast where the light catches the pile, dark enough to give the ivory vine work real contrast and warm enough that it never looks cold in lamplight. Against it the weaver worked a soft, dusty palette: sage and celadon green in the palmettes, antique gold and saffron in the leaves, ivory and cream in the blossoms, plus copper brown, muted rose and a little pale blue green in the smaller flowers. The main border swings the other way into near-black, blackish green in close inspection, which throws the ivory and gold rosettes forward and makes the burgundy field read as a lit panel inside a dark frame. The two gold guard bands are the quiet piece that holds it together, carrying the warm tones out from the field to the edge. In practical terms this is a forgiving color story for a large room, since the dark field and dark border hide traffic while the gold and ivory keep the whole thing from going heavy.

Woven in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur and the surrounding Rajasthan workshops are where most of the world's serious contemporary hand-knotted weaving now happens, and we say that without hedging. The best Jaipur ateliers still work from hand-painted cartoons, still spin and dye their own wool in small lots, and still train weavers over years rather than months, which is exactly what a 144 inch by 217 inch commission like this one demands. This piece shows that discipline: an even knot count across a very wide loom, no drift in the lattice, good crisp outlining in the palmettes, and a dense wool pile with a dry, healthy handle. If you are weighing how a piece like this compares with other hand-knotted traditions, our guide to what separates a Persian rug from a broader Oriental rug is worth a read before you decide. Oversize pieces this size normally attract a freight surcharge; this one ships free anywhere in the 50 states.