Posted on: November 19, 2019
Staff Pick – Crescendo
This week’s staff pick is Crescendo, a standout design from Orley Shabahang’s Music collection. Not only does this carpet look beautiful, but it also demonstrates the skill of our artisan weavers. Continue reading to learn more about why we love this carpet!
Crescendo is a contemporary design from Orley Shabahang’s Music collection. Born from the creative mind of master weaver Bahram Shabahang, this collection of carpets visually depicts the sound and emotion evoked by music. Shabahang creates sound waves that move through space by playing with various curvilinear abstract shapes. What truly makes this carpet impressive, however, is the ability of the weaver to create such an intricate design. Knot by knot, row by row, she successfully constructs the necessary movement through shading.
Several techniques come together to generate the movement of music in this hand-knotted carpet. Taking a look at the overall design, Shabahang incites motions by layering several curvilinear shapes in shades of red and yellow. In doing so, the blue yarn in the carpet builds the negative space that visually recedes into the background. This allows a two-dimensional art medium to appear more three-dimensional.
The craftsmanship of this carpet’s weaver is also vital in achieving movement in Crescendo. This colorful version of Crescendo creates gradients with shades of blue, red, and yellow vegetable-dyed yarn. To the untrained eye, this shading effect may seem effortless. But taking a closer look at the carpet, it reveals the weavers comprehensive understanding of the design. As these carpets are woven row by row, she must know when to pull each shade of yarn. Every knot is color-coded on grid paper for her to follow, and she must pick the right color AND tone to produce this contemporary carpet.
To explore more stunning pieces from our Music collection, visit Orley Shabahang’s website. You can also find our one-of-a-kind pieces on the 1stdibs website or at the 1stdibs Gallery.
