11'8" x 14'9" Oriental Rug | Navy Herati Mahi All Over Design | Hand-Knotted Wool | Made in India

This is a big, serious floor piece: an 11'8" x 14'9" hand-knotted wool Oriental rug woven in India in the classic Herati, or Mahi, tradition. The field is a deep indigo navy carried edge to edge with a fine repeating lattice, and the drawing holds its rhythm across nearly 15 feet of length without wandering, which is the real test of an all over pattern at this scale. The wool pile is dense and even, the handle is substantial, and the rug has never been used. It belongs with the oversized rugs that anchor a full great room or a long formal dining table. Every rug we ship leaves Freeport with a certificate of authenticity documenting the size, materials and hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The field is a full Herati repeat, the pattern also known as mahi, or fish. A slim ivory vine draws a continuous diamond lattice across the navy ground; each diamond centers on a small squared rosette, and each intersection carries an open palmette. Set inside and around every diamond are the curled sickle leaves that give the pattern its fish name, drawn here with a visible pale outline so they read clearly against the dark ground even from standing height. Between the lattice cells sit small pointed cypress forms and rows of delicate paired buds, so the surface never goes flat. The border system runs 7 bands deep. The main band is a navy ground carrying alternating rosette medallions and split palmettes in rust, cream and sage, flanked by terracotta bands of upright leaf and blossom, and the outermost band is a serpentine vine that snakes in a continuous wave around all 4 sides. Guard stripes in cream, olive and rust separate each register cleanly.

The Navy, Rust and Green Palette

The ground is a dark indigo navy, deep enough to read nearly black in shadow and to open into a true saturated blue where the light catches the pile. Over it, the lattice and the large sickle leaves are worked in warm ivory and buttery cream, which is what makes the pattern legible rather than muddy. The rosettes and small blossoms pick up terracotta rust and a softer salmon pink, and those two tones repeat again through the borders so the whole rug hangs together. Sage and olive green appear in the leaf tips, the inner guard stripes and the wide outer band, cooling the rust and keeping the palette from turning too warm. Small accents of aubergine and dark brown sit inside the diamond centers and along the outer stripe. In a room, the practical effect is a floor that reads dark, formal and grounded from across the space, then resolves into cream, coral and green detail as you walk onto it. It works against cool grays and white walls as easily as it does with walnut and mahogany furniture.

Weaving Quality and Indian Origin

India is where most of the world's good contemporary hand-knotted work is now made, and this rug is a fair demonstration of why. It is knotted entirely by hand on a cotton foundation with a wool pile, no machine involvement at any stage, and the back shown in the final photograph gives you the honest picture: tight, regular rows, crisp definition of the border motifs through the reverse, and a firm handle. The weavers who produce Herati carpets at this scale work from a full scale cartoon, and holding the lattice square across 140 inches of width takes a disciplined loom and an experienced team. The selvages are sound, the fringes are clean and untrimmed, and the pile is full height with no crushing. For a room that needs 12x15 coverage, this is a rug you buy once and keep on the floor for decades.