Maimana Kilim Area Rug, Handwoven Wool, 8x15, Ivory & Olive

Details

Description

A large handwoven Maimana kilim from northern Afghanistan, in the natural fleece tones the region is known for — oatmeal … Read more A large handwoven Maimana kilim from northern Afghanistan, in the natural fleece tones the region is known for — oatmeal ivory, grey-taupe and chocolate brown — lifted by a soft olive green. Maimana, in Faryab province, is the flatweave heart of the country.

The weave is flat and reversible, hand-spun wool on a natural wool warp, with no pile. Most of the palette is undyed sheep's wool rather than dyed yarn, and the gentle shifts of tone across the ground are abrash, the natural variation between batches of hand-spun fleece.

Three large concentric diamond medallions run down the field, each built from nested outlines in fine brown and ivory dogtooth and filled with small hooked motifs. Between them the zigzag lattice steps out to the full width of the field. The borders are unusually crisp for a flatweave: a running squared-spiral key band, a scroll band, and fine chequered guard stripes, closing at each end in a broad chocolate header banded with ivory and the original wool fringe.

The kilim is flat woven with no pile, so there is no pile wear. Selvedges and end finishes are intact and the fringe is original.

Measuring 100 by 177 inches, this is a genuine oversize carpet — it will carry a large open-plan living room with every piece of furniture on the rug, or a long dining table for twelve. The neutral fleece palette with its quiet olive is easy to build a room around and suits warm minimalist, organic modern and contemporary interiors where a strong pattern would be too much. See less