Staff Pick – Flora
This week’s Staff Pick highlights Flora, a lush green Luri Gabbeh carpet from Orley Shabahang’s Tribal collection. From its thick green pile to the traditional weave, continue reading this week’s Staff Pick to learn more about this luxurious rug.
Woven in Iran in the last twenty years, Flora features a rich, green ivy-filled scene consisting of two-tone light green and dark green wool and measures 6’4” x 9’6”. Persian carpet designs typically depict garden themes, and in this example, master weavers utilized imagery from traditional pieces to reimagine and recreate a more untamed space.
As the stalks rise from the earth and branch off, the design symbolizes life and the power of the elements. The outstretched vines evoke the feeling of growth, and nature finds a way to display its beauty in its wild representations. The light green hues emerging off a dark green background provide additional dimensions to the piece, and these vivid colors pay homage to its wild yet natural inspiration.
The organic dyes used to obtain these rich green tones work beautifully with almost any neutral furnishing or decor. When paired with a cream-colored sofa or walnut floors, Flora‘s rich green hues complement warm accent colors like red or gold. Due to its functional size, Flora is also exceptionally versatile and would easily fit within any space, including living rooms, bedrooms, offices, or wherever a medium-sized area rug could accommodate a space. What makes Flora truly unique comes out of the artisanship in its creation.
Created using a hand-knotted Persian Kashkouli weave, Flora’s construction is rooted in time-honored traditional weaving techniques. When combined with the highest quality raw materials, carpets woven using these techniques thrive beautifully for generations and remain functional throughout their lifetime. This process begins with wool, shorn from the Persian fat-tailed sheep. This breed of sheep is renowned for lanolin-rich wool, ideal for carpet weaving. Once shorn, artisans hand-spin the woolen fibers to create loose skeins of yarn. Hand-spinning the yarn not only re-incorporates lanolin back into the fibers but also creates the incredible striations found within the design. Once spun, Dye-masters transition the heaps of yarn into vats of organic vegetable dyes. These dyes produce non-toxic and fade-resistant hues that are still preferred by weavers today. The dyed wool is washed in pure river water and dried in the sun to set the wool’s patina. Only then can weavers begin the meticulous process of hand-knotting each thread of pile onto the warp and weft of the foundation.
In keeping with the traditions of Persian carpet weaving, a family of artisan weavers created Flora in their own home. This artistry is passed from generation to generation, typically carried out in a separate room reserved for weaving. Working side by side, these artists imprint their creativity into every carpet. It is the human touch that elevates an Orley Shabahang carpet, unlike any other modern or contemporary rug available on the market today. Exceptional care, skill, and love go into each rug we craft. Crafting carpets using traditional weaving processes continues to create pieces that are beautiful, as well as functional and that will last for generations to come.
If you enjoyed Flora, and want to see what other contemporary, transitional, or tribal carpets we have available, check out orleyshabahang.com to see what is in stock. Also, check out our 1stdibs digital showroom to see the rest of our available carpets, including Flora!