11'5" x 11'8" Persian Kerman Square Rug | Ivory & Sky Blue Floral Medallion | Excellent Condition

A true square in a hand-knotted Persian weave is uncommon, and at 11'5" x 11'8" this Kerman is the size that solves a room most rectangles cannot. The field is open ivory, almost bare in the center, so the single round floral medallion reads clearly from every side, and the wide sky blue border carries the color out to the edges. The pile is 3/8" wool, still full and lustrous with the soft sheen Kerman fleece is known for, and the rug has never been worn down in any area. Buyers searching square Persian rugs at this scale usually wait years for one in this condition. It ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is classic curvilinear Kerman: a round floral medallion built entirely from small blossoms and leaf sprays rather than solid color, with slender pendant finials reaching above and below it on the long axis. Around the empty ivory ground sit rows of detached floral bouquets, each one a separate little arrangement of roses, buds and feathered leaves, stepping in toward the medallion so the field never looks flat. The main border is the star of the piece, a broad band of scrolling gold vinework, large curled palmettes and cabbage roses laid over sky blue, framed by ivory guard stripes that carry a thin flowering vine. Corners are resolved cleanly, the two ends mirror each other, and the whole layout is drawn with the flowing curved line that separates workshop Kerman weaving from village work.

Ivory Ground and Sky Blue Palette

The ground is a warm ivory that shifts toward soft champagne where the light catches the 3/8" pile, and it makes up most of the rug's visible surface, which is why the piece reads so bright and calm in person. Against it, the border ground is a clear sky blue, lighter and cooler than the navy most people expect from a Persian rug, and it is the tone that sets the room. Through both field and border run saffron gold and soft rust for the vines and outlines, dusty rose and deep pink for the flower heads, sage and pine green for the leaves, with tiny points of dark navy and brown used as shading. Nothing is harsh: the dyes have the gently muted, slightly powdery quality collectors look for in Kerman, and the palette sits easily with cream walls, pale oak, walnut and warm metals.

Kerman Weaving in Southeast Persia

Kerman sits in the high desert of southeast Persia and has been a court-level weaving city since the Safavid period, with a reputation built on two things: dyeing and drawing. The city's workshops worked from full cartoons prepared by professional designers, which is how a floral medallion this intricate stays symmetrical across nearly 12 feet in both directions. Fine local wool takes the pale blues and roses that other Persian Kerman rugs are recognized for, and the cotton foundation keeps a rug of this width square and flat on the floor. Turn the corner over and the back shows even, tightly packed rows with the flower heads and vine scrolls legible knot for knot, the mark of a careful workshop weave rather than a quick commercial one. Handled well, a Kerman like this outlives its owner.