Navy and Rose Hexagonal Medallion Kazak, Hand-Knotted Wool Rug

100% wool pile, hand-knotted, with a natural fringe at both ends. Wool is resilient and forgiving underfoot, which makes this a practical choice for a hallway that gets real use.

A deep navy ground hides everyday marks well. The exceptions are lint and pale fibres, which show on dark wool more than on any other, and the cream and pale green in the medallions and triangles — they are the palest colours here and they run the full length of the centre line, where a runner takes its traffic.

The medallions are the obvious thing, but the interesting decision is what happens between them. On most runners of this kind the medallions sit on open ground, and the ground is simply ground. Here the points of each medallion reach out to the borders and to the medallions above and below, cutting the space between them into large triangles — and every one of those triangles is then filled, alternately salmon and green, with a dense diaper of tiny crosses and rosettes.

The result is that the navy survives only as outline. Look for a patch of plain ground anywhere inside the field and you will not find one bigger than the width of a drawn line. It also sets up two scales working against each other: the medallions are drawn large and boldly, in five or six colours, while the triangles beside them are worked at the smallest scale on the rug. Standing back, the field reads as a chain of medallions; crouching down, it reads as a mosaic of small repeated flowers with medallions sitting on top.