10'3" x 15' Persian Sarouk Rug | Antique All-Over Floral Sprays | Deep Red & Indigo

Laid out at 10'3" x 15', this antique Sarouk is a full room-size piece from central Persia, hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and still carrying a firm, meaty handle after generations of careful use. The field is a deep warm red, drawn edge to edge with detached floral sprays and small vases rather than a central medallion, and it is framed by a wide indigo border of palmettes and rosettes. Among oversize Persian rugs this classic formula is the easiest to furnish around, because the pattern reads as texture from standing height and never fights the furniture. It ships with a certificate of authenticity, and our guide to Persian Sarouk rugs explains how the type is drawn, woven and graded.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is the Sarouk signature: an open red ground scattered with detached sprays, each one a little bouquet of serrated leaves, curling vine and blossoms that floats free of its neighbors instead of joining into a continuous lattice. Stepped rows of larger flower heads and small footed vases run up the center, with slender cypress-like sprigs and paired leaves filling the outer thirds so the field stays balanced from any side of the room. The close-up shows how much detail sits inside a single motif: a gold vase with scrolled handles, a fan of navy leaves, ivory rosettes with black outlines. The main border carries a repeating turn of large palmettes and round rosettes on indigo, framed by two camel gold guard stripes of small flowers and running vine, and the corners resolve cleanly rather than being cut off, which is a mark of careful loom planning at this scale.

Warm Antique Red, Indigo and Camel Gold

The field color is the reason these rugs became famous: a warm antique red that leans toward brick in daylight and deepens to a soft burgundy under lamps, with the subtle pooling of tone that only decades of use and hand-dyed wool produce. Against it, the motifs are worked in inky indigo and near black, camel gold and honey, rust, brick and small flashes of ivory, with quiet touches of sage and teal green in the leaves and vase bodies. The border reverses the balance, putting gold, rust and ivory flowers onto a dark indigo ground so the frame holds the red field firmly in place. It is a warm palette rather than a bright one, and it sits comfortably with walnut and mahogany furniture, brass, leather and cream or oatmeal walls.

Sarouk Weaving in Central Persia

Sarouk is a village north of Arak in central Persia, and the name covers the surrounding workshops that wove some of the most substantial floor rugs Persia ever produced. The recipe was simple and durable: a heavy cotton foundation, thick lustrous local wool, a tight symmetrical knot and a pile left with enough body to take a century of traffic. The back photograph shows exactly that, an even, well packed weave with straight rows and no pulled or distorted areas, and original hand-knotted fringe still attached at the end. Antique examples of this size were woven to order over many months on a wide loom by more than one weaver, which is why the drawing stays consistent across 15 feet. If you want to understand the signs of age visible here, our guide on how to date an antique Oriental rug covers the wool, dyes and finishing details that place a piece like this one.