10' x 12'9" Persian Sarough Rug | Rose Red Floral Medallion | Hand-Knotted Wool, 1970s

Knotted in the 1970s in wool on a cotton foundation, this 10' x 12'9" Persian Sarough is a full room piece: it sits under a sofa group with all legs on, or under a 10 seat table with chairs pulled back. The field is a warm rose red packed edge to edge with curling vine, palmettes and small open flower heads, drawn around a navy lobed medallion whose interior reads almost entirely in ivory and gold. Sarough weaving comes out of the Arak region in west central Persia, and the drawing here follows the classic workshop layout covered in our guide to Persian Sarough rugs. It is in perfect condition, ready to lay the day it arrives, and ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The center holds a lobed medallion on a navy ground, opening into a pale rosette core ringed by small blossoms, with slender pendants reaching toward each end of the field. Navy spandrels close all 4 corners in the same floral vocabulary, so the field is framed twice over before the borders even begin. Between medallion and spandrels the ground is never left empty: leafy vine scrolls run in mirrored pairs, carrying palmettes, serrated leaves and tiny five petal flowers that repeat at a fine scale. The border system is layered, with an ivory and gold main band of alternating flower sprays and rosettes set between red and indigo guard stripes, and a further reciprocal minor stripe outside that. The drawing is fully symmetrical along both axes, which is the mark of a cartoon-woven workshop piece rather than a freehand village improvisation.

The Rose Red Field and Its Supporting Palette

Red is the governing color, but it is not one flat red. The ground moves between a soft rose and a brick tone depending on where the light falls, with the close-up photographs showing the clear coral-red base of the knot. Against it the ivory and pale gold flower heads carry most of the visual weight, deep indigo outlines every leaf and vine so the pattern stays legible across 12'9", and a lighter sky blue appears in scattered blossoms and in the guard stripes. Small notes of olive green, soft brown and salmon pink turn up inside individual flowers. The overall effect from standing height is a warm red room anchor with an ivory and gold frame, which is why this palette sits comfortably with wood floors, dark leather and antique furniture alike.

Sarough Weaving in the Arak Region of Persia

Sarough is a weaving town north of Arak in west central Persia, and its rugs built their reputation in the American market on two things: heavy, springy local wool and a densely beaten weave that holds its shape under furniture for generations. The reverse of this piece, visible in the folded corner photograph, shows tight, even rows with the pattern reading almost as crisply on the back as on the face, and a cotton foundation with the firm handle Sarough weavers are known for. The pile is full and the fringes are original. Among 10x13 Persian rugs this is the size that furnishes an entire formal room, and a floral Sarough at this scale is a piece you buy once.