11'8" x 23'3" Persian Kashan Rug | Ivory All-Over Floral Field | Signed, 1970s, Never Used

A rug of this length is a room-defining commitment, and this one has waited about 50 years for the right floor. It measures 11'8" x 23'3", hand-knotted in fine wool on a cotton foundation in the 1970s, rolled and stored ever since, and the pile still stands full and unwalked from end to end. The weaver signed it in a small cartouche set into the upper border, which on Persian Kashan rugs of this period means a named workshop rather than an anonymous village loom. True oversize Persian rugs in unused condition are scarce, because almost everything this large was bought to be used. It ships with our certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

There is no central medallion here, which is the harder choice for a weaver. Instead the ivory field carries a continuous all-over lattice of scrolling arabesque vines, split leaves and Shah Abbasi palmettes that repeats in mirrored pairs along the full 23'3" length without ever becoming mechanical. Large lobed palmettes and lotus heads anchor the rhythm, with smaller rosettes, serrated leaves and curling tendrils filling every space between them. The wide sage main border runs a classic turtle-and-palmette procession, framed on each side by narrow guard stripes of connected floral heads on ivory, and the corners are resolved cleanly rather than cut short, which is a reliable tell of a well-drawn cartoon. The signature cartouche sits centered in the top border, worked in dark script on ivory. Because the drawing is curvilinear rather than angular, the whole field reads as one continuous garden from any angle in the room.

A Cool Ivory, Sage and Blue Palette

This is an unusually cool Kashan palette, and that is what makes it flexible. The field is a warm cream ivory with a faint champagne cast, and the vinework over it is drawn mainly in indigo and a soft dusty sky blue, with sage and olive greens for the leaves. The main border shifts to a light sage green that reads almost celadon in daylight, outlined in deep navy. Scattered through both field and border are small notes of terracotta rust, pale gold, soft rose and clean white, most visible in the flower centers and the little eight-petal rosettes seen in the close-up photographs. There is no red field and no heavy burgundy anywhere, so the rug sits comfortably with pale walls, blue-grey upholstery, natural oak and antique mahogany alike. The ivory fringe and the plain sage outer selvage finish the edges quietly.

Kashan: Weaving Town and Quality

Kashan sits in central Persia, north of Isfahan, and its looms trace back to the Safavid court workshops that produced some of the greatest carpets ever woven. Modern Kashan built its reputation on soft, lustrous local wool and on disciplined, evenly spaced knotting, and that discipline is exactly what a piece this long demands: the width stays true, the border runs parallel, and the pattern registers correctly across more than 23 feet. The back photograph shows tight, regular knot rows on a white cotton foundation, with a short, dense pile that feels firm underfoot rather than floppy. Kashans are also the most recognizable Persian rug in America: when you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor. This one is simply a great deal longer, and in a condition that almost no 50 year old palace rug survives in.