9'3" x 18' Oversize Agra Design Rug | Antique Mahal All Over Pattern | Hand-Knotted Wool

This is a gallery length piece: 9'3" x 18' of hand-knotted wool drawn in the old Agra and antique Mahal manner, with a rust field that runs the full length uninterrupted by a central medallion. Rooms that need this shape are usually long and formal, a great room, a 12 seat dining room or a wide entry gallery, and pieces cut to these proportions are scarce, which is why buyers searching oversize area rugs so often come up empty at standard 9x12 and 10x14 stops. The weave is new and has never been on a floor, the pile is full and even end to end, and the wool has the soft matte handle of a well washed piece rather than a shiny commercial one. Every rug ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming the hand-knotted construction, materials and measurements.

Design and Motifs

The field is a true all over floral design, a repeating lattice of curving vines that carries lanceolate leaves, tulip and carnation heads, small 8 petal rosettes and large serrated palmettes. Two motif families anchor the repeat: pointed shield shaped palmettes shaded from sage into cream, and broad fan shaped leaf forms filled with fine striping, both placed in mirrored pairs on either side of the long axis so the drawing reads correctly from either end of the room. The border system is generous, with a wide camel toned main band of linked floral cartouches and scrolling vine, flanked by ivory guard stripes of rosettes and a narrow olive outer stripe of arrowhead cresting. Corners are resolved cleanly, which is a fair test of the cartoon and the weaver on a piece this long.

Color Palette: Rust Field, Sage Green and Camel

The ground is a soft rust, closer to terracotta and old brick than to fire engine red, with gentle abrash moving through it so the surface breathes rather than sitting flat. Against that ground the drawing is worked in ivory, straw and pale cream, with muted sage and olive green shading the palmettes and leaves and a deeper burgundy used sparingly for flower centers and small rosette blocks. The main border shifts to a dusty camel and taupe, a half step lighter than the field, which frames the rug without the hard contrast a navy or black border would bring. Brown tones sit in the outer band and along the edge finish. It is a warm neutral palette overall, easy alongside oak, walnut, brass and stone, and forgiving of both cool grey and cream wall colors.

Origin and Weaving Quality

This rug was made in Pakistan, where the Lahore and Peshawar workshops have spent decades reviving the classical Agra and Mahal cartoons on upright looms using hand-spun wool and a cotton foundation. It is an Oriental rug in the proper sense: every knot tied by hand, no tufting, no backing glue. The reverse photographs show the knot rows running straight and consistent across the full 9'3" width, the design legible from the back, and a firm handle with no looseness at the selvages or ends, all of which points to steady tension held over the many months a 18' loom run takes. The wool is long staple and takes dye with a soft matte finish, and at this weight and size the rug will hold up to a formal room in daily use for decades.