A rug from the Mahindra collection.

visit to India reveals a visually rich and symbolically complex pictorial sensibility. India is a land where nearly every surface is covered with decoration, from rickshaw fenders to the foreheads of the bullock oxen to the dried mud entranceways of village huts. More often than not these imageries refer to a spiritual reality apart from the here and now either in reference to religious parable such as the Maratburada or in homage to the pantheon of Hindu gods themselves.

Oddly though, India has not had a clear design expression of its own when it comes to carpet weaving. With its history of Mogul and then British rule the great craft of Indian carpet weaving was for the most part yoked to wants of these outside cultures. In l990 Michaelian and Kohlberg participated in an exciting project as a partner in Black Mountain Looms. Using vegetable dyed yarns and handspun yarns, a select group of weavers were invited to create rugs with their own imagery.