Oushak Collection

Hand-knotted Oushak rugs — the soft-spoken, foundation-piece school of Turkish weaving that has anchored American interiors for over a century. Soft palette, large-scale botanical drawing, hand-spun wool. Every piece ships with a written provenance certificate.

What an Oushak rug is

Oushak (also spelled Ushak) refers to a school of rugs woven in and around the town of Uşak in western Anatolia, Turkey, beginning in the 15th century. The school is defined by three things: a soft, hand-spun wool that takes natural dye unevenly and produces the characteristic "abrash" — the gentle horizontal striations of color that animate the surface; a palette built on faded reds, soft ivories, sage greens, and pale golds; and a large-scale floral or palmette drawing that reads from across a room.

Oushaks were the first Eastern rugs to enter European interiors at scale — the British East India Company imported them in the 17th century, and by 1900 they were the default rug of the American Gilded Age. Today they remain the most-specified rug type in American interior design, for a simple reason: the palette plays well with almost any wood floor, almost any wall color, and almost any furniture style. They are the foundation-piece rug.

The Oushak palette

Soft. Faded. Slightly washed. A good Oushak does not announce itself; it organizes the room around it. The most common ground colors are ivory, soft rose, pale sage, and faded gold. The drawing is in muted brick, indigo, and walnut.

Antique vs. contemporary

The Oushaks in this collection range from late-19th-century antiques to contemporary pieces woven by our weaving partners in the Konya region of Turkey and in Pakistan. Antique Oushaks (pre-1920) are the most desirable from a collecting standpoint and command the highest prices; contemporary Oushaks woven on hand-spun wool with natural dyes are the more frequently chosen option for working interiors. Both are hand-knotted; both are documented; both ship with a certificate.

Room placement

Oushaks are the most flexible rug in our catalog. Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and primary entrance halls all welcome an Oushak. The soft palette pairs particularly well with linen upholstery, painted wood, and limewashed walls.

Every piece, documented

Each rug ships with a written provenance certificate. Trade pricing for design professionals. White-glove delivery throughout the continental United States.