Modern Art Deco kilim – 298 × 197 cm

This kilim resembles a sea at dusk. Within these 298 x 197 cm (9'9" × 6'6"), coral red and blue-grey dissolve into horizontal bands that undulate gently, as though the wool had retained the movement of water, a warm light on the left, cooler at the centre, warming again towards the edges in a gradation no machine could ever programme.

The Afghan weavers have done something rare here. A piece with no apparent motif, no medallion, no visible geometry, just colour and material that are sufficient unto themselves. This is the kind of rug one lays down and never questions again.

One of a kind.