24 Jaipuri rugs to be displayed in Milan

Twenty four handmade rugs made drawing inspiration from the Pink city using a 2,500-year old art will be showcased at an international exhibition in Milan in April.

Jaipur Rugs, a brand that makes hand-made rugs in collaboration with Italian designer Matteo Cibic, has come up with a vibrant collection of handmade rugs, which will be exhibited at the Litta Variations.

The collection was inspired by Cibic's visit to Jaipur, and reflects the shades of Jaipur, jaalis, jharikhas and the architecture in the city.

The show, curated by Mosca Partners, will be held from April 9 to April 14, 2019.

Cibic was also inspired by ancient paintings and the Jantar Mantar, the city's sundial. He had worked with a local painter to design this collection.

"My designs show the contemporary and ethnic Jaipur. I am fascinated by the holes in the architecture and long curved moustaches of the Rajasthani men. The designs also talk about the metaphysical spaces that Jaipur is known for," Italian designer Matteo Cibic told DH.

It took about eight months for traditional weavers to weave these rugs through tufting in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

These were later sent to the finishing unit in Rajasthan. Approximately 10-12 weavers worked on each rug and it took them 25-30 days to complete one piece. "The designs were interesting. Men and women both weaved these rugs with hands," Akhtar Alam, a third-generation weaver at Jaipur rugs, told DH.

The project is aimed at communicating to the world the strong and quintessential heritage, culture and beauty of Jaipur and its people.

According to Jaipur Rugs founder Nand Kishore Chaudhary, the business model provides livelihood to the artisans at their doorstep.

This changed the standard practice of involving middlemen to work with artisan communities.

The company currently has a network of over 40,000 artisans spread across 600 rural Indian villages in five states in India. It has an end-to-end business model, right from sourcing the wool to exporting a finished handmade rug.

Jaipur Rugs has been working towards bridging the gap between the weaver at the grassroots and the urban consumers.

The modern and eclectic collection of rugs, made using the finest wool and silk, has won numerous global awards and is currently exported to more than 45 countries, with the sales arm, Jaipur Living, Inc, located in Atlanta in the US.