Deco Grid 2

Ivory on ivory. The geometry here is not printed but carved — the pile sheared around each form so the design reads in relief and shadow, changing as the light moves across the day.

Carving is the signature of the Chinese Art Deco carpets woven in Tianjin and Peking between the 1920s and 40s. A period brochure from the Nichols workshop put it plainly: the design "must be cut all around the edge to make it stand out from the background." No other tradition had made the cut itself the ornament. That is the technique at work in this piece.

Hand-knotted in Kathmandu on a Tibetan loom, where a continuous yarn is looped around a gauge rod and cut row by row to release the pile. Graded 60, 80 or 100 knot on the Nepali trade's standard scale. Himalayan wool, over 1,400 colours. Made to order in 12 to 16 weeks in production, in your size, your palette and your pile height — every piece woven new, for one interior only.

Need another size, a 150-knot weaving, or special materials (alpaca, silk, hemp)? Request a quote — from $64/sqft.