I sold my house, Ferncliff, in Shetland a couple of years ago.
Ferncliff sits on the hill above the ferry terminal on the island of Yell that offers transport to Unst and Fetlar, the most remote of the North Isles. The house was built in 1824 and many of the original elements are still in it.
When I was doing renovations about ten years ago I lifted up a fitted carpet that was lying on the upstairs bedroom floor (the one on the top right of the photograph above). Below it was a layer of linoleum, then another layer of older linoleum, and below that was a carpet that covered the whole area of the floor. It was threadbare and dusty but the decades of lying beneath the linoleum had protected it and I was able to preserve a small central portion. That piece, still colourful, has now been rebound and is in the studio in Greymouth Māwhera on the West Coast of Aotearoa New Zealand; a reminder of the two decades I spent living in the Scottish Isles.
Unfortunately I cannot find out any information about this piece. It looks very similar to silk carpets that are still made today from India or Kashmir. It is definitely old – at least 19th Century and maybe even original to the house because it was clearly made to fit the room that it lay in. If anyone has any information please get in touch.
Comments
3 responses to “A scrap of carpet”
Isn’t it beautiful, Andy? What a perfect reminder you of your special connection with Shetland and Yell.
What a lovely find. Looks Indian. Sorry I can’t help with info.
What a lovely Shetland memorial.