Cream Kazak Rug
This cream Kazak rug was hand knotted in Afghanistan in lamb’s wool and measures 181 x 135 cm. The ground is ivory, with a column of large medallions down the centre and a border of small red, navy and cream motifs.
The design up close
Down the centre of this cream Kazak rug, five large medallions stack from top to bottom. A blue and cream medallion sits at the top, with a red and navy lozenge below it. Then comes a multicoloured medallion in blue, green, cream and gold, followed by another red and navy lozenge and a blue and red medallion that closes the column at the foot.
Smaller red, navy, green and salmon motifs sit in pairs on either side of the column, and a small multicoloured medallion fills each top corner. The cream border holds a dense band of small red, navy and cream medallions and stars, with navy guard lines on either side. White fringe finishes both short ends.
On a cream Kazak rug, the red and navy lozenges carry the eye straight down the centre. The blue and green in the medallions keep the ivory field from looking flat. Each red lozenge has a navy outline, which keeps its points crisp against the ivory ground.
The Kazak tradition
Kazak rugs revive the bold geometric designs first woven in the Caucasus. The name comes from the Kazak (Gazakh) district of the southern Caucasus, on the borders of today’s Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Afghanistan has a long weaving tradition, and in recent decades weavers there have revived these designs. A cream Kazak rug keeps the old geometry on a pale ground.
How a cream Kazak rug is made
Each knot is tied by hand on a loom, row after row, and the pile is then sheared level. Our records note German dyes, and the rug is double hand knotted. Lamb’s wool comes from a young sheep’s first shearing and gives the pile a soft hand.
Sizing it for your room
At 181 x 135 cm the rug covers about 2.4 square metres, which is too small to sit under a full sofa setting. It works well in a bedroom. Laid across the foot of a queen bed, 153 cm wide in Australia, it overhangs the bed by about 14 cm on each side. In a living room, a cream Kazak rug this size sits in front of a pair of armchairs or under a coffee table, with the ivory field showing clearly around the furniture legs. Its ivory ground also suits pale oak or light grey floors.
Looking after your rug
Vacuum it on a suction-only setting, or with the beater bar switched off, so the brush does not pull at the knots. Turn it around every six to twelve months so sun and foot traffic wear it evenly. Blot spills with a clean white cloth and cold water rather than rubbing them in. When it needs a full clean, choose a cleaner who washes handmade rugs by hand.
Put a good underlay beneath it. It stops the rug sliding on timber or tiles, adds cushioning and takes some of the wear off the pile. Moths like wool in dark, quiet spots, such as the part of a rug under a sofa, so vacuum those areas often and lift the furniture now and then.
See it before you buy
Visit our showroom at 307 Penshurst St, North Willoughby, open every day from 11 am to 4:30 pm, to see cream Kazak rug in person. If you would rather judge it in your own room, with your own light and furniture, book an in-home viewing and we will bring a selection to you.
Browse more Kazak Rugs, or ask about a custom made rug in your own size and colour. Read more about Caucasian and Kazak rugs.
