Handmade Blue Ersari carpet

Boasting breath-taking colour combinations, this handmade blue Ersari carpet showcases a regional heritage design with modern infusions.  

The colours of this handmade Afghan carpet are simply extraordinary. It shows off a beautiful blue field and main border along with supporting shades of pale blue, midnight blue, green, ochre, orange and cream. 

The design is equally enchanting displaying a field of twelve octagonal shaped emblems known as guls as well as a geometric border surrounding the field.  

Learn more about this handmade blue Ersari carpet

This delightful Afghan Ersari carpet was handmade in Afghanistan, and made by age-old weaving techniques that have been tried and trusted for hundreds of years. 

The pattern of this handmade Afghan carpet hints at it's tribal legacy. The designs of traditional Afghan-Turkmen carpets typically show a repeating arrangement of motifs known as guls. These are arranged in the field of the rug in rows or columns. Gul can be translated to flower, and historically, the gul design was representative of the tribe that wove the rug. 

The size and shape of the guls in this Afghan carpet are akin to Ersari gul motifs. Sometimes you might find this motif referred to as elephants foot or "fil pai" design.

What we really love about this blue Ersari carpet is that each of the guls has a different colour configuration. This is a charming feature as well as adding extra visual interest. 

Find out what this blue Afghan carpet is made from

The Ersari rugs of yesteryear were made entirely from wool. They therefore had a woollen pile, as well as woollen warps and wefts. 

This handmade modern Afghan Ersari carpet is made from wool and cotton. This rug was made using cotton for the foundation fibres i.e. the warp threads. For use as a warp material, cotton is an excellent choice because it keeps it's shape well and it is tough. The warps are the first materials to be strung onto the loom. They will also subsequently form the rug's fringes. The fringes on this piece are beautifully embellished: grouped and wrapped with colourful yarn. 

The pile of this Afghan rug is made from naturally dyed, hand-spun wool. It is the pile of this Afghan carpet that we so admire and enjoy. The colours are simply perfection with beautiful shades expertly combined together. The great thing about hand-spun wool is that it can be twisted much tighter than an equivalent machine-spun yarn and the result of this is a sturdier, more durable fibre. It has an additional benefit of the way in which it takes-up the dye - the dyed wool will be more vibrant in colour on the outside of the yarn than towards the centre. In the knotted rug this creates a beautiful appearance in the colours. 

How this Afghan carpet was handmade

This Ersari carpet was handmade by ancient carpet weaving methods. It is a hand-knotted rug. 

Hand-knotting is an age-old way of making rugs, and is still the best. It is the wool pile that is created by hand-knotting. The weavers (two weavers would have made this rug) tie coloured yarn onto pairs of warp threads, and the tuft created is from a knot. The weavers tie the knots in horizontal rows, followed by a series of threads which run betwixt the warps, these are known as wefts. The wefts are then compacted firmly against the knots. And this is repeated over and over. The expert weavers knotting gradually forms the colours and design of the rug. 

It's amazing to think that this rug contains probably in excess of 600,000 knots.

Where can I use this Ersari carpet in my home?

This handmade Ersari carpet was made for use on the floor. It was made with just hard-wearing natural fibres so it will be durable enough for wherever you decide to lay it. 

As it is a visually appealing rug, you could place it in a living room between sofas - this 8x5'6 size is often a great option for this purpose. Alternatively, it will prove to be hardy enough should you wish to position it in an entrance hall. 

Key details: 

• Country of origin: Afghanistan
• Size: 247×167cm / 8’1″x5’6″ 
• Thickness: 6mm
• Pile: Wool, hand-knotted
• Warp: Cotton
• Age: New