6'11" x 9'10" Persian Kashan Rug | Antique Floral Medallion | Circa 1940s Original Patina

This is a genuine antique Persian Kashan rug from the 1940's, hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and measuring 6'11" x 9'10". Eighty years of use have taken the pile down slightly in a few places across the open field, and that is exactly what gives the surface its soft sheen and settled, lived-in color. The drawing is city workshop work: a single lobed medallion with pendant finials, ivory corner spandrels, and a densely filled field that never repeats itself carelessly. At roughly 7 by 10 feet it is one of the most usable proportions in the house, and it sits comfortably with the other 7 x 10 Persian rugs we import. A certificate of authenticity ships with the rug, confirming origin, age, materials and hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The center holds a large lobed medallion, outlined in navy with a scrolled arabesque surround and an ivory core filled with small red and blue rosettes drawn tight enough to read clearly from standing height. Pendant finials run off the medallion toward each end, and 4 corners carry ivory spandrels filled with curling vine and split palmettes. The field between them is not left empty: it is packed with palmettes, boteh forms, serrated leaves and flowering stems that curve and counter-curve in the classic Kashan manner, with the layout mirrored across both axes. The main border is a broad navy band of alternating palmettes and curved leaves, framed on each side by ivory guard stripes of meandering vine and evenly spaced rosettes, then closed by a red outer edge. The whole scheme is an all over floral drawing disciplined by a strong medallion, and the balance of the two is what separates workshop weaving from village copies.

Brick Red Field, Navy Border, Cream and Light Blue Accents

The dominant color is red, a warm brick tone that leans terracotta where the pile is lower and deepens toward madder where it is full. Against it, the navy blue of the border and the medallion outline does the structural work, holding the composition together and reading almost black in low light. Cream and beige carry the spandrels and guard stripes, giving the eye somewhere to rest, while a soft light blue runs through the leaves, rosette centers and boteh outlines and keeps the field from going heavy. Brown and olive tones appear in the vine work and in the shading around the medallion, the kind of quiet secondary palette you only get from natural dyes settling over decades. There is gentle abrash across the field, a slight shift in the red from one pass of the loom to the next, which is a mark of hand-dyed wool rather than a flaw. The combination sits easily with walnut and mahogany furniture, warm white walls and antique brass.

Kashan Origin and 1940s Weaving Quality

Kashan sits in central Persia, north of Isfahan, and its weaving goes back to the Safavid court workshops. The town built its reputation on soft, lustrous local wool and on the formula you see here: a red field, a navy lobed medallion and ivory spandrels, drawn by a master and executed at a knot count fine enough to hold a curved line. Pieces from the 1930s and 1940s like this one are the last generation woven entirely with pre-war wool and dye practice, which is why collectors chase them and why dating an antique rug matters to the price. The back, visible in the last photograph, shows a fine even knot line on a cotton warp with no puckering and straight, honest sides. Kashan is also the design most people already know without knowing the name: when you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor.