Grey Kazak Rug
This grey Kazak rug was hand knotted in Afghanistan in lamb’s wool and measures 196 x 123 cm. Its pale grey ground carries geometric medallions in red, navy, cream and gold, inside a cream border. The medallions and hooks sit on the pale centre, and the border frames them.
The design up close
Three large medallions run down the centre of this grey Kazak rug. The top and bottom ones are blue with red and cream centres, and the middle one is red with a navy outline and a cream centre. Small navy and orange hooks sit between them on each side, and a scatter of red, cream and gold star motifs fills the spaces.
The border is cream, with a row of red, navy and gold star motifs along it. A dark brown band separates the border from the field, and the field itself is pale grey with a faint sage cast. Along the cream border, a row of stars repeats the red, navy and gold of the medallions.
On a grey Kazak rug, warm reds and golds stand out most against the pale ground, and the navy hooks add a darker line between the medallions.
Kazak rugs in the Caucasus and Afghanistan
Kazak rugs revive the bold geometric designs of the Caucasus in thick, hard-wearing wool. 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 weavers there have revived these designs in recent decades, so a grey Kazak rug keeps the old geometry on a quieter ground.
How a grey 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 natural dyes. Lamb’s wool gives the pile a soft hand, and the thick pile is what makes Kazak rugs hard-wearing.
Sizing it for your room
At 196 x 123 cm the rug covers about 2.4 square metres. In a living room, the front legs of two armchairs can rest on it either side of a coffee table, with the grey field showing around the furniture. Across the foot of a queen bed, 153 cm wide in Australia, its 196 cm length overhangs by about 21 to 22 cm on each side, so a bedroom suits a grey Kazak rug of this length too. Its pale grey ground suits pale timber floors and cream or grey walls.
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 grey 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.
