Fragment No. 94

The Sound of Carpets

Fragment #00

By Unknown Carpets

The beautiful fragment we received is part of a replica made in Rajasthan—our place of origin, and the place where we create our own carpets. As we unfolded it, we imagined the missing part of the fragment: the sound—the sonic ambience of the moment and place where it was once created.

It is an atmosphere we know intimately, one that moves us to create carpets every day: the tac tac of threads being knotted, the sss of wind drifting through open windows, the whisper of code words exchanged between karigars to coordinate each knot. Through this auditory portrait, we offer an immersive moment—inviting the listener to connect with the place and the hands that crafted this piece.

This missing part becomes a meditative space—a bridge to the origin of the fragment and to the complete carpet. The sound piece was created specifically for this fragment as a meditative form, drawn from Unknown’s The Sound of Carpets.

The Sound of Carpets is an ongoing project by Unknown Carpets, shaped over years by the daily rhythm of Rajasthani looms. The gentle hum of spinning yarn, the cadence of knotting, and the soft rustle of trimming form a living soundscape that Unknown continues to gather into an expanding collection of field recordings.

When the fragment arrived, it shifted something. It didn’t interrupt—it joined. It brought with it a trace of time, a sense of distance, and a familiarity we couldn’t quite name.

Listen to the carpet. It carries a sacred sound.

We consider this sound precious because we believe the auditory language of its making has remained almost unchanged—from when the original carpet was first woven in the Caucasus in the 17th century to when this replica was crafted in Rajasthan. Our methods—the very ones captured in these recordings—remain traditional, with only subtle shifts over time.

It is a portrait you can hear when you close your eyes.

The project captures these harmonies not only to honour the precious work of artisans, but also to reflect our ongoing effort to evolve traditional knotting and dyeing techniques.

This is not preservation for nostalgia’s sake—it is a way to keep the craft alive. By adapting, questioning, and reshaping tradition for today, we honour our roots while allowing the form to grow and speak to the present. In this way, each carpet becomes both a visual archive and a sonic document of a living, ever-changing tradition.