Cut-Down Heirloom Rug

Every so often someone brings me an heirloom rug that is so worn its usability is in doubt.

Each time, I’m asked the same question about an Oriental heirloom rug: “Can you do anything for it?”  If you or someone you know has a rug in, or near, this condition there are options available that may surprise you. Many people like to use small intact sections to make pillows or cushions. One clever customer of mine took her collection of salvaged rug fragments and had them framed. The unique designs of each piece are now showcased as art.

Sometimes it is also possible to remove worn areas and resize an entire carpet, which is what I was able to do when my long time customer, Jennifer Bowles, brought me a very old 14-foot long, 7-foot wide Persian rug, identified as a Senneh, a Kurdish woven carpet from the Northwest region of Iran.

The rug had become extremely threadbare in areas with tears and holes that were beyond restoration. Jennifer has a true affection for old rugs, so to protect it from daily wear she had been keeping it at her country home. But because of the rug’s history she felt compelled to save it.  The carpet has been in her husband Henry’s family for four generations and was handed down to them from his parents. Jennifer’s father-in-law was an avid hunter and, while in his care, the rug graced the floor of his gun room. Prior to that it had belonged to an uncle, George McNear and his wife Beatrice Bowles, who inherited the rug from the original, and perhaps most prominent owner — George’s mother, Mary Amanda McNear Bowles.

The Bowles family holds an honored place in the history of the University of California, Berkeley. Anyone familiar with the University knows the Bowles name well. Bowles Hall is a grandiose castle like structure. While we don’t know whether or not the rug ever adorned the hall, if it was to survive being passed to a 5th generation it required some serious modifications.

As we discussed our options, Jennifer mentioned that she had been searching for a runner for the hallway in her home and asked if it was possible to make one using the stronger parts of her rug. It was the perfect solution because the pattern in the 14-foot by 3-foot rug helped it work as a runner.  Her Senneh has a beautiful all over pattern of botehs, figures characteristic of paisley. Pear-shaped, and often seen in oriental rug designs, a boteh is thought to represent a leaf, a bush or a pinecone. These “botehs within botehs” are exceptional and close to paisley in look.

Luckily the majority of wear in Jennifer’s rug was confined to the center. The outer borders were very decorative, intact and useable.  The ideal measurement for a carpet in her hallway was three feet wide. Using that as a guide, I removed four feet — the entire center section of the rug – leaving the two side border panels plus one foot of the boteh pattern that was still in good condition on one side.  That foot of botehs gave me a pattern down the middle, between the borders. I then sewed the panels together to form the new rug.

Jennifer’s Senneh survived three generations before she and Henry received it and though its age was showing, they weren’t ready to let it go.  It holds a wealth of memories and tales of their family history that now includes another chapter —being re-purposed as a runner.  It is now again strong enough to uphold the tradition of being handed down to the next generation. For me, that’s a wonderful tribute to the time and artistry of the original weaver of the rug and to the lucky first owner.

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