Landscape PAO TOU Rug
包头景观地毯 19th C. Inner Mongolia A rare 19th-century Pao Tou weaving from Inner Mongolia. Thick, typically uneven knots in high-lanolin wool, dyed with plants. Cloud motifs speak of long life. Material: Hand-spun sheep wool. Dyes: Natural Indigofera Tinctoria Age: Circa 1880 – 1900 Condition: Repaired in some areas. Overall in great condition. Pile is thick. […]
The Ardebil Carpet
Example of one of our vintage Ardebil Carpets The Ardebil Carpet YOUR VISUAL MEDITATION Handwoven in the lineage of the great Ardebil masterpieces, this rug carries both Safavid splendour and Kurdish consciousness. Take a step step inward from border to centre: the pattern remains unchanged, thru and into the central medallion, but the rhythm […]
Original Conditions
We are proud to deal in rugs made under the “original conditions” from which all others arose. What is Original Conditions? Discovered over 2,500 years ago, there is still nothing greater than the traditional method of warp, weft, and hand-tied knots using naturally dyed wool from local sheep. It begins with the flockSons herd the […]
Statement of Concept – Rugs and Textiles are the Art of the Feminine
Throughout history, western art appreciation has consistently relegated rug artistry to within the boundaries of craft – ie. the domestic realm, the feminine, of lesser value. In the canon of European art, the 20th century rates as the period of discovery of colour as pure non-representational form. So late compared with rugs! “Oh you painters […]
A Traditional Rug is a Survivor
Living + working in Bangalow, recently whacked by Cyclone Alfred we’re reminded of how the traditional rugs survived the 2022 floods, and the copies didn’t, when whole towns went under water. People were dropping off full ute’s of muddy, flood rugs for us to wash. We were washing constantly for 3 months and not one […]
I didn’t want this bus trip
February, when great drifts of snow showcase the brutal beauty of the treeless Kurdish hills. I’m leaving Sanandaj the capital to travel south towards the head of the Persian Gulf. Sanandaj is, in rug parlance, Senneh. Senneh rugs have a distinctive weave that can be easily identified. In English the look of the back or […]
Octagram – The Eight Pointed Star
THE OCTAGRAM is so ancient it is pre religion, a time when Goddesses ruled societies that understood shapes and numbers can reveal the intrinsic beauty and complexity of the universe. With agriculture and settlement, the original monotheistic Persian Zoroastrians and later male God faiths required a simpler star as an emblem, a flag even, marching […]
Mab’s Pecan Christmas Cake
250g Raisins 250g Apricots quartered 155g Sultanas 90g glace Cherries quartered 250g Chopped Glace fruit 1Tbsp Angostura Bitters 1/2 C. Dark Rum 6 Eggs 1 1/4 C. Caster Sugar ½ C. Flour 1tsp Baking pwd 90g Shredded Coconut 500g Pecan halves Combine all fruits, add Bitters & Rum stand overnight. Next Day :- Whisk together […]
Happy Birthday
HISTORY REPEATS October 2001. For a year we had been refurbishing the heritage listed old building, working towards The Rug Shop when NINE ELEVEN happened. Not a propitious time to open a shop specialising in rugs from the US President’s “WAR ON TERROR” and his “AXIS OF EVIL”. However, we are merchants international traders in a […]
Original Rose
The Bazaar Vakil is the one of the most elegant. Small in size, and hundreds of years old, the cupola archways every two odd metres with floors at chest height. As one casually perambulates along (everything is Shiraz is casual no rush) one can enquire more or less face to face with the retailer who […]
The Human Element
The Human Element Georgia Fox 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Cater family’s Rug Shop – the last 23 years of which have been spent enriching the main street of Bangalow. Georgia Fox spoke with proprietors Anne & Milton to learn more. In 1974, with a handshake between strangers in the bazaar of the […]
Morocco 1972 – Milton’s slides
