Description
These Khotan rugs were originally produced in the city of Khotan, which was located in Eastern Turkestan. Khotan villages produced beautiful rugs throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The design for this particular rug has been re-created by village weavers in Afghanistan. They clean, wash and dye the wool with pure vegetable dyes, and then weave the rug. Those vegetable dyes most commonly used are madder, the root of a spindly bush which grows abundantly in many carpet-producing area which is used to create a red color. Walnut peel is used for dark brown, pomegranate peel for light brown, and sparak which is a wild flower from the steppes, used for yellow.
Herat Oriental works with over 2,000 village weavers to create beautiful, authentic, handmade rugs. The majority of the weavers are women, who live in the villages of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. As we grow, we are able to create more jobs for female weavers who otherwise would not have the opportunity to do so. The community also thrives from rug weaving as the local farmers benefit from wool sales, and the local artisans create natural and vegetable dyes for the weavers to use in their designs. Due to the handmade nature of our rugs, the size may vary from as advertised by 3-4 inches. Regular vacuuming and annual professional cleaning will keep your rug looking new for years to come.
