6'2" x 9'6" Pakistani Tabriz Rug | Wool and Silk | Burgundy and Navy

A hand-knotted rug measuring 6'2" x 9'6", knotted in Pakistan with a pile of wool and silk in a Tabriz design. At a glance it reads as a deep red field covered edge to edge with small flowers, held inside a dark border that is almost black until the light reaches it.

Design

There is no medallion. The field carries an all-over floral drawing, mirrored along both axes, built from small rosettes, open palmettes and serrated leaves linked by thin stems that run out to the corners. Close up, in the detail photographs, the flowers are drawn individually rather than repeated by rote: cusped roses, star-shaped blossoms with dark centres, buds turned on their sides. The main border is a meandering vine with large flowerheads set on the dark ground, and it is flanked on both sides by ivory guard stripes carrying a smaller, tighter chain of blossoms and cartouche shapes. A narrow red selvage closes the rectangular outline on all four sides, with ivory fringe at each end.

Colour

The field is a cool burgundy, closer to wine than to brick, and it holds its depth across the whole surface. The border is a navy so saturated it reads near-black in the overall shots and only shows its blue at the fold. Between the two, ivory guard bands do the separating. The flowers themselves run through sage and olive green in the leaves, buff gold, soft rose and a pale powder blue, with small points of clear red and dark indigo at the flower centres.

Making

Hand-knotted in Pakistan, with wool and silk in the pile. The silk sits in the flowers and leaves rather than the ground, which is why those motifs lift and change tone as the rug is turned, while the burgundy field stays matte. The weave is fine enough to draw a flower a little over an inch across with its outline intact, and the pile is clipped low so the drawing stays legible. The table lists the rug as new and in perfect condition.