13'8" x 23'1" Persian Kashan Rug | Ivory All-Over Floral Field | Signed Cartouche

This is a true palace piece: 13'8" x 23'1" of hand-knotted wool on a cotton foundation, woven in central Persia as a single continuous composition rather than a medallion repeated to fill the length. It is a Persian Kashan rug of the all-over type, where the ivory field carries an unbroken lattice of palmettes and curling vine from one end to the other, and the weaver signed the work in a small woven cartouche set into the end border. Rugs at this scale are commissioned, not stocked, and the drawing has to hold its rhythm across more than 23 feet without a seam or a stutter, which is exactly what it does here. The pile is even, the ivory ground is clean and open, and the rug reads as it should for a floor this large: quiet at a distance, intricate up close. Among oversize Persian rugs, a signed Kashan in this condition is an uncommon find. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity documenting origin, materials and construction.

Design and Motifs

There is no central medallion here, and that is the point. The field is a full all-over layout built from large lobed palmettes, serrated lanceolate leaves and small many petalled rosettes, all strung on a double system of arabesque vines that crosses and recrosses itself so no single motif ever sits in isolation. The drawing is mirrored on the long axis, so the pattern reads the same whether you enter the room from one end or the other, and it repeats on a tall vertical interval that the weaver has stretched to suit the 23'1" length rather than simply stacking a smaller cartoon. Look closely at the corner photograph and you can see the curve of the vine carried through the turn without breaking, a detail that separates a workshop cartoon from a village copy. The main border runs a continuous vine of alternating palmettes and open blossoms, flanked by a pair of ivory guard stripes carrying a smaller meandering flower head, and beyond those a narrow outer stripe finishes the edge. The signature cartouche sits centred in the end border, worked in dark script on an ivory ground, the traditional way a Kashan master claimed a commission of this size.

A Study in Ivory, Sage and Soft Blue

The field is a warm undyed ivory, closer to unbleached cream than to white, and it is left generously open so the wool picks up light across the whole span of the floor. Against it the vinework is drawn in soft sage and olive green, with charcoal and deep navy outlining that gives every leaf and palmette a crisp edge. Inside the flower heads the palette warms up: powder blue and slate blue petals, terracotta and rust centres, apricot and soft coral highlights, small touches of gold and the occasional clear white rosette. The main border reverses the scheme entirely, laying the same floral vocabulary over a muted sage green ground that frames the pale field and pulls the green out of the field drawing. The ivory guard stripes act as a bright seam between the two. It is a restrained, almost silvery colourway by Kashan standards, far from the classic red and navy formula, and it suits pale plaster, limestone and light oak far better than a saturated rug would.

Kashan: The City and the Weave

Kashan sits in central Persia, north of Isfahan, and its looms descend directly from the Safavid court workshop tradition. The local wool is soft and lustrous, and Kashan weavers have always favoured a tight, even knot on a cotton foundation, which is what allows the curved arabesque line in this rug to stay smooth instead of turning into steps. Kashan is also the design most people have seen without knowing its name: when you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor. A commission at 13'8" x 23'1" would have occupied a full workshop loom and a team of weavers for years, and the signed cartouche tells you a named master stood behind it. The back detail shows a fine, regular knot across the width with a straight, well packed selvedge and original ivory cotton fringe, the marks of a piece woven to workshop standard rather than to a price.