5' x 8' Silk Oriental Rug | Gold Tabriz Medallion Design | Raised Silk Pile, Brand New

This is a hand-knotted silk Oriental rug made in China in the classic Tabriz manner, measuring 5' x 8' and never used. The whole surface is pure silk, and the weaver has carved the pile so the flowers, the vines and the outer edge of the medallion stand slightly proud of the ground, a relief technique you can see clearly in the angled photograph. The field is a deep mustard gold, the border is ivory, and the drawing is dense and fine rather than simplified. At 5 feet by 8 feet it suits a sitting room seating group, a study or a formal bedroom, and because the pile is silk it reads as a soft, reflective surface rather than a hard-wearing floor rug. The rug is in perfect condition, with straight sides, even fringe and no restoration, and it ships with our certificate of authenticity confirming it is 100% hand-knotted.

Design and Motifs

The layout is the classic Tabriz formula: one round medallion at dead center, 4 corner spandrels, and a field filled edge to edge with fine floral vinework. The medallion is built in concentric rings, a small rosette at the core, then a checkered lattice band, a ring of tiny blossoms, a scalloped lotus collar and finally a crown of pointed petals, so it reads almost like the underside of a dome. Above and below it a cartouche-like pendant with scrolling cloud bands anchors the vertical axis. Out in the field, slender brown vines carry palmettes, multi-petal rosettes, carnations and small cypress-like sprays, all mirrored across the center line. The spandrels are drawn in light blue and hold a vase of flowers on each side, and the corner panels at the bottom repeat that vase motif at a larger scale. The main ivory border runs a continuous meander of palmettes and blossoms between narrow floral guard stripes, with a fine reciprocal line closing the outermost edge.

The Gold, Ivory and Light Blue Palette

The field is a deep antique gold with an olive cast, closer to mustard than to yellow, and the silk gives it a shifting sheen that goes brassy in direct light and almost bronze in shadow. Against that ground the flower heads are picked out in ivory, soft peach, dusty pink and pale sage green, with the vine armature drawn in a warm chestnut brown that holds the whole field together. The medallion lightens the center of the rug: cream and pale celadon rings, peach petals, and small accents of burgundy and charcoal navy in the lattice work. The spandrels and the vase motifs bring in a powder light blue that cools the gold, and the same blue reappears in small details along the border. The main border is ivory, nearly white at the outer guard stripe, and carries rust, burgundy, sage and slate blue blossoms. The fringe and selvedge are clean ivory. Overall the rug reads warm and golden from a distance and considerably more multi-colored up close.

Where It Was Woven and the Quality of the Weave

This rug was made in China, in the silk weaving tradition that grew up around workshops copying the great classical city designs of the East, and this one follows the Tabriz drawing closely: curved line, flowing vine, symmetrical medallion and a disciplined border. The back photograph with the ruler shows the point of it. The knot count is high and the rows are tight and even, which is the only way a design with this much small floral detail stays legible at 5' x 8'. Silk takes a much smaller knot than wool, so each blossom is drawn with several shades rather than blocked in with one, and the carved relief finish is done after the pile is clipped, with the ground trimmed slightly lower than the ornament so the pattern stands up. Handling the rug, the silk pile has the cool, slick feel and the directional shimmer that no synthetic imitation reproduces, and the cotton foundation keeps it flat and stable on the floor.