4'5" x 7'1" Persian Kashan Rug | Dabir Kashan Floral Medallion | Fine Kork Wool | 1950s

Knotted in the 1950s and kept in perfect condition since, this 4'5" x 7'1" Persian Kashan rug still has a full, upright pile with no thin spots, no repairs and crisp selvedges. The pile is fine kork wool, the soft fleece clipped from the lamb's neck, shoulders and underbelly, which is why the rustic red ground picks up light and changes tone as you move around it. The drawing follows the Dabir Kashan tradition: a small shield medallion, a field packed with curling vine, and 6 ivory cartouches around the border carrying woven garden scenes. At 53" by 85" it sits just inside the 5 x 7 area rug range, a workable size under a small seating group or beside a bed. Every rug leaves us with a certificate of authenticity stating origin, materials and age.

Design and Motifs

The center holds a small pointed navy medallion, outlined in red and ivory, filled with a woven scene of cypress and willow rising out of a band of rippling water. Above and below it run matching pendants and lobed palmettes that anchor the vertical axis. Around them the red field is completely covered with scrolling vine, serrated saz leaves, open rosettes, tulips and tiny birds, all drawn in the curved line Kashan weavers are known for rather than the angular village style. The corners fall away into olive grey spandrels filled with more blossom, and the main navy border carries a steady rotation of floral panels. What sets this piece apart are the 6 ivory cartouches set into the border: each one shows a tiled pavilion beside a pond, with trees behind it, and at the bottom border a large footed vase spills flowers upward into the guard stripes. Light blue guard bands with small rosettes frame the whole composition on 4 sides.

The Color Palette: Rustic Red, Indigo Blue and Green

The ground is a warm rustic red with a madder undertone, deep in the pile and slightly lighter at the tips, which gives the field depth instead of a flat block of color. Against it the border reads as a dark indigo navy, almost black in the shadows and clearly blue where light hits it. Between the two sit the softer blues that make this rug feel lively: cornflower guard stripes, sky blue leaves, pale water in the cartouche ponds. Green appears twice over, as olive in the vine work and as a brighter pistachio in the leaf tips and the pavilion roofs. Ivory outlines every major motif and fills the 6 garden cartouches, and small amounts of gold, coral pink, chocolate brown and a clear yellow turn up in the flower centers. The overall reading is warm red and blue with green accents, a palette that works with wood floors, brass and cream walls.

Kashan: The Weaving Town and the Quality

Kashan lies in central Persia, north of Isfahan, and its workshops trace their drawing straight back to the Safavid court tradition. The town built its name on 3 things: soft lustrous local wool, a fine cotton foundation that lets the weaver pack knots tightly, and designers who could draw a curved line properly. The Dabir group in particular is remembered for pictorial cartouche borders exactly like the ones here, where a full garden scene is fitted into a space a few inches wide without losing the detail. You can see that discipline in the back of this piece: even rows, tight knotting, and motifs that mirror each other precisely across the center axis. Kashan is also the most recognizable Persian design in American homes, and when you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor. This one is a small, honest 1950s example of the type, made for use and still ready for it.