5' x 7'2" Multi-Color Oriental Rug | Tabriz Mahi Herati Design | Navy Allover Fish Pattern

This is a hand-knotted wool Oriental rug made in China, drawn after the classic Mahi, or fish, pattern associated with the weaving town of Tabriz. The field is a deep navy worked in a tight repeating lattice, framed by a deep red floral main border and two sand and ivory guard stripes, with original cotton fringe at both ends and a navy selvage down the sides. At 5' x 7'2" it sits squarely in the most useful of all traditional formats, which is why so many buyers start with 5x7 Oriental rugs. It is preowned and in great condition, with even pile, straight edges and sound ends, and it ships with our certificate of authenticity confirming it as a genuine hand-knotted piece.

Design and Motifs

The field carries no medallion at all. Instead it uses the Mahi or Herati scheme, an all-over Herati design in which small diamond lozenges link edge to edge, each one centered on a rosette and flanked by 4 curved sickle leaves. Those leaves are the fish that give the pattern its name, and here they are drawn in salmon and camel against the navy so the lattice reads clearly from standing height. Between the diamonds sit tiny 8 petal rosettes and minute red and sky blue flower heads that keep the repeat from looking mechanical. The main border changes register completely: on a deep red ground, ivory palmettes alternate with cartouche shaped medallions and small boteh buds, joined by a continuous scrolling vine. Inner and outer guard stripes on a camel ground carry a running rose and leaf meander, and the whole frame is closed with a plain navy outer band that matches the field.

A Closer Look at the Colors

The dominant color is a dark inky navy, almost black where the pile falls away from the light and clearly blue where it leans toward it. Over that ground the drawing is worked in a soft salmon rose, a warm camel and a clean ivory, three tones that sit close enough together to give the field a hazy, textile like glow rather than hard contrast. Accents of brick red, pale sky blue and a muted sage green appear in the small rosettes and flower heads, which is what earns this rug its multi-color description. The main border swings to a deep cherry red, cooler and darker than the brick accents in the field, and its palmettes are picked out in ivory and a greyed pistachio green with small outlines of charcoal. The camel guard stripes carry pink roses and sage leaves and act as a warm buffer between the red border and the navy edge. Navy, red, ivory and rose is a traditional and very forgiving palette that works with dark wood, warm whites and brass.

Origin and Weaving Quality

This rug was made in China by workshops that learned the Tabriz repertoire and wove it on their own looms, which is why the Mahi lattice is so regular and the border drawing so symmetrical. The construction is honest hand-knotted work: a cotton foundation, a wool pile clipped to 3/8", hand finished selvages and knotted fringe, all visible in the folded corner photograph where the knot nodes and the depth of the pile show plainly. The scale of the repeat tells you the weave is fine enough to render the sickle leaves and the small secondary rosettes without blurring, which is the real test of any Mahi pattern. The wool has a quiet sheen rather than a high gloss and has kept its body through previous use, with no thin areas, no open ends and a flat lie across the whole surface. For a buyer who wants the look of a classic fish pattern floor covering at a preowned price, this 5' x 7'2" piece gives you the pattern, the palette and the hand-knotted construction.