Material: Sheep Wool on Cotton Foundation

Size & Knottage: 12.9 X 9.7 feet; 132 knots per square inch.

Age: About 50 years

This rare vintage hand-knotted Persian Kashmar rug is an artistic tribute to the Mughal-Persian miniature tradition, woven with exceptional precision and storytelling depth. The central medallion narrates an intimate royal moment, surrounded by layered vignettes that echo Persian miniature paintings from the Safavid and Mughal eras, featuring finely detailed noble couples, musicians, hunters, animals, birds, and symbolic elements arranged within an architectural framework. The colour palette is dominated by deep indigo blues, turquoise, ivory, ruby red, and antique gold, all with natural dyes. What makes this rug truly unique is its narrative structure - each section tells a story, making it a work of art. Unlike a simple repeating pattern, a pictorial rug requires the weaver to follow a complex "map" for every single knot to create the faces and figures. This significantly increases the labor time. Also, a 13-foot rug is considered "palace size” and requires a very large loom with 3 to 4 weavers working simultaneously for 12–18 months to complete. Such Mughal-inspired Kashmar rugs are rarely produced today, often commissioned as wall hangings or collector pieces due to the immense skill, time, and artistic knowledge required. Age: about 50 years old.

~Eina Ahluwalia