2'7" x 17'2" Mahi Runner Rug | Ivory Herati Fish Lattice | Wool and Silk, Brand New

At 2'7" x 17'2" this is a genuine corridor length runner, hand-knotted in wool with silk accents and drawn in the Mahi, or fish, layout that collectors look for in a fine Herati lattice. From standing height the field reads ivory and quiet; up close it resolves into a tight diamond trellis of camel brown, rust and burgundy with a column of lobed medallions running the full 17 feet without a break. The pile is new and never walked on, the sides are straight, the ends are finished with clean ivory fringe, and the back shows an even, well packed knot. It ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it is genuinely hand-knotted.

Design and Motifs

Mahi means fish, and the name comes from the pair of small curved leaves that flank every rosette in the lattice, drawn so they look like fish circling a pond. Here that lattice covers the entire ground in a tight diamond repeat, each cell holding a 4 petal rosette with a dark outline, and it holds its rhythm over more than 17 feet of length. Six lobed diamond medallions sit on the center line, each filled with its own miniature trellis and centered on an 8 petal star rosette in navy and ivory, with small pendant palmettes above and below linking one medallion to the next. The main border is ivory, carrying alternating palmettes and curled boteh leaves in rust, brown and soft green, framed on both sides by narrow camel guard stripes with a running vine. Discipline is the real achievement on a runner this narrow: any drift in the lattice would be obvious the moment you looked down the length of it, and in these photographs the repeat stays true from fringe to fringe.

A Palette of Ivory, Camel Brown and Rust

The ground is a warm ivory, closer to unbleached cream than to white, and it does the work of a quiet backdrop. Over it the trellis is drawn in camel brown and a soft taupe that carries most of the silk, so the lattice lifts and changes brightness as you walk past it. The rosettes alternate between deep burgundy and a muted brick rust, with pinpoints of teal blue, dark navy and sage green scattered through the field at the scale of single knots, which is exactly what keeps a large ivory field from looking flat. Each medallion steps up to a deeper caramel brown with a navy star at the heart, outlined in ivory and pale grey so it reads cleanly against the surrounding lattice. The border repeats the same rust, brown and green on ivory, and the outer edge is closed with a thin dark navy line. The overall effect is neutral but warm, and the showroom photographs show it sitting comfortably on both pale and mid-tone stone tile, which is how it will behave over wood or beige flooring at home.

Made in India: Mahi Weaving in a 17 Foot Runner

This runner was made in India, which is where most of the world's best contemporary hand-knotted work is produced today, and it is woven to a standard that earns the quality designation on its tag. The Mahi lattice is one of the classic Oriental rug layouts and one of the least forgiving, because the rosettes and fish leaves are small enough that a loose knot count rounds them into mush. Here the drawing holds its detail, the cotton foundation is tight, and the silk accents in the medallions and trellis give the surface a low sheen without turning shiny. Length is the other reason a piece like this is uncommon: most runners stop at 10 or 12 feet, while a 17'2" piece has to be set up on a long loom and kept in register by the same small team for months. If you have a corridor, stair hall or galley kitchen that two shorter rugs would never cover properly, this is a single continuous long hallway runner that solves it in one drawing.