5' x 7'6" Persian Isfahan Rug | Signed Wool & Silk on Silk Foundation | Approx. 500 KPSI, 1970s

A signed workshop piece from the 1970s, this 5' x 7'6" Persian Isfahan rug is the kind of weaving that rewards close inspection. The pile is fine wool carried on a silk foundation, with silk worked into the drawing so that the vines and leaf tips catch light differently from the wool around them. At roughly 500 knots per square inch the line stays clean through every curl of the arabesque, and the rug lies flat and true with a pile that has never been walked on. A woven cartouche in one end border names the weaver and the town. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

There is no central medallion here. Instead the ivory field carries a balanced all-over composition built around a central axis of footed flower vases, each one spilling roses, carnations and small buds. Slender aubergine vines arc out from those vases in mirrored pairs, tying together large Shah Abbasi palmettes, feathered saz leaves and dense clusters of pale rosettes that read almost like lace against the open ground. The drawing is fully curvilinear, and the mirroring is exact from side to side, which is the hallmark of a cartoon drawn by a trained designer rather than a village adaptation. The border system runs five bands deep: a wide navy main border of linked palmettes and cloud-band scrollwork, framed by ivory guard stripes of running vine and a pale outer band of paisley and blossom. The corners resolve cleanly, with the border pattern turning rather than breaking, and the whole field is ringed by a fine inner outline that sharpens the frame.

Ivory Ground With Sky Blue, Rose and Navy

The field is a warm ivory, closer to unbleached cream than to stark white, and it stays quiet enough to let the drawing do the work. Across it the weaver laid in a great deal of soft sky blue and silver blue, which is what gives the rug its cool, almost frosted look from a distance. Warmth comes from the flower heads: dusty rose, coral and salmon in the open blossoms, deeper burgundy and wine in the rosette centers, and touches of olive gold in the vase bodies and the small cartouches. Teal and forest green appear in the leaves, and the vine tracery is drawn in a dark plum that outlines everything without ever going harsh. The navy of the main border anchors the palette and keeps the ivory from floating, while the outer band shifts to a pale sand tone that softens the transition to the floor. In daylight the silk passages read a shade brighter than the wool beside them, so the color appears to move as you cross the room.

Isfahan Weaving and the Quality of This Piece

Isfahan sits in central Persia and has been a workshop city since the Safavid court set up its looms there in the 16th century. The reputation of the town rests on drawing: the curved line, the flowing vine, the precision of a repeating motif, none of which survives at a coarse knot count. That is why the best Isfahan looms work on silk warps, which allow a smaller, tighter knot and hold the shape of the rug without distortion. This example follows that tradition exactly, with fine wool and Persian silk knotted on silk at approximately 500 knots per square inch, a low, even clip that shows the detail, and a signature cartouche that identifies the piece as workshop rather than bazaar production. Turn the back over and the design reads as clearly as the front, which is the simplest test of a rug woven at this level.