Signature collection

Shallymar

Name: Carpetstory
Address: Ottawa, ON, CA
Telephone: +1 613 883 1801
Price range: $$$

The Temple of Love

Scroll

Thirteen rugs, one night

From dusk to dawn

Shallymar rugs are drawn like paintings, then knotted by hand. Each one takes its name from the Kamasutra, from its arts and its words for love.

This page hangs them in the order of one night. It starts with the rose light after sunset and ends with the music that wakes a lover at dawn. The clock in the corner keeps the hour as you go.

7:40 pm

Alekhya

The art of painting

Rose and gold, held up to the sky on the roof as the light went.

8:15 pm

Malya

The garland

Cobalt drawn through the yellow of the mustard fields.

Malya, a yellow and cobalt Shallymar rug draped in a dark room

8:50 pm

Sugandha

Fragrance

Olive and straw, drawn fine as vetiver grass.

9:30 pm

Kavya

Poetry

Two faces in ink, the way a verse is written.

Kavya, two faces drawn in ink on an ivory Shallymar rug

10:10 pm

Akarsha

Attraction

A face with its eyes closed, drawn in deep red on ivory.

10:50 pm

Raga

Passion, and the old word for colour

A blaze of ochre hair on ink, with a face at its heart.

Raga, a Shallymar rug of a face in ochre and ink, seen low across the pile

11:30 pm

Chumbana

The kiss

Two faces meet in gold, on a cobalt ground.

12:10 am

Alingana

The embrace

Two figures at rest among reeds, in slate and sand. The wall behind this page is carved from it.

Alingana, a slate and sand Shallymar rug seen close

1:00 am

Kesha

The art of dressing the hair

Bone white and black, the dark falling the way hair falls.

2:00 am

Manibhumika

A floor set with jewels

Bands of madder, indigo and violet around a pale marbled heart.

Manibhumika, a Shallymar rug in madder, indigo and sand seen close

3:10 am

Maniraga

The colour of gems

Gold unfolding on a ground of deep red.

4:30 am

Rati

Delight in love

Honey and ivory, rolled out by hand.

Rati, a honey and ivory Shallymar rug being rolled out by hand

5:50 am

Vaitaliki

Waking a lover with music at dawn

Sand, with rose settling on it like dew.

How to read a Shallymar

Three things to look for

Rati lifted into the light, the Shallymar signature knotted into the pile — Signed in the pileThe name Shallymar is knotted into the pile in script, beside the fringe.

Alingana turned over, the knots showing as a grid on the back — Knotted by handTurn a corner over and the knots show on the back as a grid, one by one.

The fringe of Sugandha, the warp ends left as they are — Left at the fringeThe warp ends are left the way they came off the loom.

January 2012

First shown in Hannover

Shallymar was unveiled at Domotex Hannover, in the Indian Pavilion. Fashion TV filmed the stand.

The Carpet Export Promotion Council sign at Domotex 2012, inviting visitors to the launch of Shallymar in the Indian Pavilion — The sign at the pavilion, Domotex 2012.

A Shallymar rug in rust and gold in a living room — A Shallymar piece in a living room.

In the room

Shown by appointment

Shallymar is a private collection. We show the pieces in Ottawa by appointment, or bring one to your home so you can see it in your own light.

The catalogue

See Shallymar in Ottawa

Ask for the catalogue, or book a time to see the pieces.

Book a viewing Email for the catalogue

hello@carpetstory.ca +1 613 883 1801