Weaves and origins
Six families of carpet, and how to tell them apart
A short field guide from the gallery floor. Every drawing on this page is made by the same loom that draws our collection.
Scene 01The six families
Choose a weave
Medallion
A central medallion with corner pieces and a wide border. The classic formal carpet, drawn from a paper plan, often with silk highlights.
- Good for
- Living rooms and formal sitting rooms. Looks best with space around it.
- In the gallery
- N1,900,000 to N12,600,000
Garden
A walled garden from above: water channels, trees and flowers in compartments. Calm, ordered, made for long rooms.
- Good for
- Dining rooms, under a rectangular table.
- In the gallery
- N2,800,000 to N9,000,000
Kilim
Flatwoven, with no pile. Bold stepped motifs, light, reversible and easy to move.
- Good for
- Tiled floors, terraces under cover, children's rooms, layering.
- In the gallery
- N650,000 to N2,400,000
Heriz
Coarse, strong knots and thick wool, with angular drawing woven from memory. Nearly indestructible.
- Good for
- Family rooms, big furniture, busy homes.
- In the gallery
- N3,500,000 to N9,800,000
Gabbeh
Long pile, hand-spun wool and free, simple figures. Deep, soft and full of colour.
- Good for
- Bedrooms and reading corners.
- In the gallery
- N900,000 to N3,200,000
Silk
Silk pile, very fine knots, painterly drawing that shifts colour as you walk around it.
- Good for
- Bedrooms, studies, walls. Rooms where it is seen more than walked on.
- In the gallery
- N4,200,000 to N28,000,000
Scene 02Knot density
What a knot count really means
Move the slider. We draw one square centimetre of carpet and work out how long a single weaver would take to tie a 2 by 3 metre carpet at that density.
- Knots in a 2 by 3 m carpet
- 2,160,000
- One weaver, about 9,000 knots a day
- 11 months
- Typical of
- Kashan and good Tabriz
Scene 03Hand-knotted or not
Five checks you can do on the floor
- 01
Turn it over
On a hand-knotted carpet the design shows clearly on the back, slightly irregular. A machine carpet shows a rigid grid, or a glued canvas backing.
- 02
Look at the fringe
On a hand-knotted carpet the fringe is the end of the warp threads, part of the carpet. A sewn-on fringe is a warning sign.
- 03
Find the abrash
Gentle bands of lighter and darker colour come from small dye batches. Perfectly even colour usually means machine-made.
- 04
Bend the pile
Fold the carpet along a row. Hand-tied knots sit in tidy rows at the root of the pile. Tufted carpets show loops or glue.
- 05
Ask for it in writing
We write the construction, material and age on every label and every receipt. Ask any seller to do the same.
Scene 04Materials
Wool, silk and the rest
| Fibre | Feel | Wear | In Lagos homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand-spun wool | Warm, springy, slightly irregular | Excellent, decades | Handles humidity and air conditioning well |
| Machine-spun wool | Even and smooth | Very good | Reliable for busy rooms |
| Silk | Cool, fine, lustrous | Good with gentle use | Keep from direct sun and heavy traffic |
| Cotton foundation | Not felt, holds the knots | Keeps the carpet flat and square | Standard in most city carpets |
| Viscose, sold as art silk | Shiny when new | Poor, marks with water | We do not sell it, and we always say so |
Scene 05Questions
About weaves
Are origin names like Tabriz or Kashan a guarantee of where it was woven?
No. They describe a style. We label a carpet Tabriz style when it follows that tradition, and we tell you separately where it was actually woven.
Is a higher knot count always better?
No. It means finer drawing and more hours. A coarse Heriz will outlast many fine carpets. Choose for the room, not the number.
What is a vegetable dye?
Dye from plants and roots such as madder, indigo, weld and walnut. They age gently and are part of why old carpets glow.
Do you sell machine-made carpets?
No. We clean them if you bring them in, but everything in the gallery is knotted or woven by hand.
Come and feel the difference
Every weave on this page is on the gallery floor. Book a private viewing and we will lay them out side by side.