Shyrdak Felt Rug, Kyrgyzstan

Cream horns and dark horns lock together so neatly that neither color can claim to be the background.

This shyrdak felt rug comes from Kyrgyzstan and is contemporary. It is camel felt. Shyrdaks are made by cutting a pattern from two felts of contrasting color, swapping the pieces and stitching them together, so every shape appears twice in reverse. Here curling ram's horn motifs fill a square central field around a cross-shaped medallion. A wide border of the same scrolls runs around the edge, framed by a narrow band of mottled felt. Fine stitching outlines every shape. It is square, 95 by 95. It is 95 inches wide and 95 long.

Nothing is wasted, and nothing is left unmatched.