If you read the blog regularly, you may remember that we had a cream and black Moroccan pattern rug in the living room. It was serving its role well, but we were fortunate to find someone selling the rug in the photos above. It appears to easily be the highest quality Oriental rug we’ve ever owned.
Of course, we are buying it from someone who bought it from someone else, so there is no verifiable information related to the origins and authenticity of the rug. The seller, an older gentleman, claimed he bought it over 20 years ago from the original owner and she had it for around 40 years. So maybe it is around 60 years old.
The other hand-knotted rugs we owned have been between 80 to 100 knots per square inch. On this one, the wool knots are tightly packed and are around 288 per square inch. That definitely contributes to the much finer detail in the design.
Speaking of the design, it is very unusual compared to the other Oriental rugs I have seen. It looks more like a William Morris print than the geometric and floral patterns normally seen. It also has a different color palette. There are multiple shades of green, pink, peach, pale blue, and black. There is no red to be found.
We have no idea how “genuine” the rug is or what its true value may be, but it is exactly what we needed to pull the living room, solarium, and foyer together.
UPDATE: I reached out to an Oriental rug dealer we have used in the past. Here is part of what he had to say… “This is what we call a 16/18 Pakistan in the trade, a reference to the quality and origin. Not sure about the timeline that the seller is claiming, but these would have been sold in various retail locations, including us, in and around the 1990s. The design is unusual overall but was one of the used palettes for this collection. The rug looks in fantastic shape and will definitely last you a very long time if continued to be cared for.”