Colourful Floral Felt Rug Wool Kashmir Hand Embroidered felted Namda Kilim . 6 ft x cheapest 4 ft 183 x 122 cm

From Kashmir. A stunning hand embroidered Felt Namda Rug. With extra dense floral embroidery in many colours, red flowers.

6 ft x 4 ft. 183 x 122 cm

Excellent condition. Great for any room - on the floor or wall.

This lovely rug is both eye catching and spectacular.

This beautiful rug features crewel stitched embroidered patterns on a pure wool felt namda base. The embroidery is in pink, green, blue, yellow on a white background of felted wool.

This hand embroidered Namda rug was made in the Himalayan valley of Kashmir by expert craftsmen. They follow a traditional design and are embroidered using pure wool on a washed Namda felt wool base The finished article is a delightful decorative rug. The wool still retains much of the natural oils and in consequence spot cleaning is easily carried out should it be necessary.

Kashmir, although in India, has an historic connection with Persia (Iran). A large proportion of the population can trace their roots back to Persia having relocated from there when the Moguls occupied India, hence the majority of traditional designs have their origin in Persia.

History:

Namda is a handmade felted rug used for furnishing. It cheapest is made of unspun wool or wool and cotton pressed and felted in specific proportions. The size varies from few to several feet in length.
The term Namda comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Namata' which means “woollen stuff” and is used to describe felted wool floor coverings. Felting is one of the earliest uses of fibre that man discovered and adapted to use.
Wool from local sheep is used to make Namda which gives it the warmth as well as strength. Namda performs the role of an insulator, which is the reason it is warm in winters and cool in summers.
Even in the sub zero temperatures of Kashmir, Namda becomes a good source of warmth besides a Kangri. Namda is considered the common man's carpet, because traditionally those who could not afford to buy costly ‘kaleen' used this economical means of furnishing. The quality of Namda depends on the percentage of wool and use of dyes in the felt.
Yarkand is considered to be the place of origin of Namda. The rug came to Kashmir from Ladakh and the distant lands of Iran. Kashmir has served as a prominent market for Namda decoration and work in the past.
Namdas used to be brought in bulk from Central Asia to Kashmir for yarma work (embroidery). Yarma work is the ancient skill & source of earning to Kashmiris.
The practice of using wool as a felting material is also seen in other places where sheep rearing has been a significant livelihood of the local inhabitants; mainly the Kutch area of Gujarat and western Rajasthan.
Las Khan, who according to his descendants was from Kabul used to come to Kashmir via Ladakh for Namda trade. In1850 Las Khan settled in Bhavdinpura, Srinagar and established his Namda workshop there.

Slowly, Namda work spread throughout a vast area of Srinagar and therefore this area is now known as Namdagari Muhallah. The permanent settlement of Las Khan in Srinagar paved way for the industrial development of Namda in Kashmir. After the death of Las Khan in 1886 his two sons followed suit & their descendants are still involved in the same trade.
Namda became very popular during the First World War. Namda workers became very busy and people started taking up the craft as a profession. Due to growing demand, Namdas started to be imported from Yarkand.
Thus Namda workers earned a lot and work bloomed. The wool merchants used to come from Ladakh, Kangra and other places of Kashmir and put up at Safakadel Sarai, which had become a market for Namda. This Sarai still exists.