8' x 9' Pakistani Modern Transitional Rug | Wool | Burgundy and Beige

A hand-knotted wool rug from Pakistan, 8' x 9' and close enough to square that it reads almost as a block of colour from the doorway. The field is a deep burgundy red, carrying visible striation from one wool batch to the next, and across it sit widely spaced blossoms and leaves in beige and soft gold. There is no framing border: the pattern runs out to a narrow self-edge on all four sides, which is what gives this rectangular piece its uncluttered look.

Design

The drawing is sparse and deliberate. Four large blossoms, each about the width of two hands, are set well apart across the field, their petals notched and fanned open with small red cut-outs left inside them. Between them run thin single-line vines, drawn in a gold so fine it is barely heavier than a pencil stroke, looping in wide arcs that connect smaller buds and serrated oak-like leaves. The smaller motifs read as simple outlined shapes rather than shaded flowers. Nothing repeats on a tight grid, and the spacing changes slightly from one area to the next, which keeps the modern handling of an old floral vocabulary from looking printed.

Colour

The ground is a warm burgundy red, darker and cooler in the corners, lifting towards brick where the light runs along the pile. Horizontal banding from the dyed wool is clear in the close views and in the folded-back corner, giving the field movement without any second colour in it. The flowers and leaves are beige, some closer to wheat and some to a warmer amber gold, and because they are only one step lighter in tone than the red around them the pattern reads quietly from across a room and sharpens up close.

Making

Hand-knotted in Pakistan with a wool pile on a cotton foundation, with a flat woven edge and plain selvage visible at the corner. The reverse shows the pattern clearly through the knots, and the pile has the slight sheen that comes with well-washed wool. The table records it as new and in perfect condition, with no wear to the pile or the ends, and it is one of the more restrained transitional pieces in our hand-knotted stock.