Hook / 12305

A small wool Hook rug, 79 x 122 cm, shaped as an oval cartouche with a painted floral spray at its centre. The cream ground is worked in a raised hooked texture and shows gentle surface wear and soft soiling that have mellowed the original tones. A burgundy border with vivid blue scrollwork frames the cartouche, lending a graphic counterpoint to the botanical centre. The piece reads as an antique rug with evident handwork and a restrained, tactile palette. Circa 1900 - 1920, it carries the quiet patina of age and considered making.