6'4" x 10' Persian Heriz Rug | Geometric Medallion | Brick Red & Navy | Excellent Condition

This is a classic northwest Persian village weave: a brick burgundy field, a stepped geometric medallion drawn in navy and ivory, and a deep indigo border that frames the whole thing like a picture. It measures 6'4" x 10', a size that lands between a standard 6x9 and a 7x10 and fills a room without crowding it. The pile is hand-knotted wool on a cotton foundation, the handle is firm and heavy, and the wool has taken on the low-sheen glow that only comes from years of honest settling. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it is hand-knotted in Persia.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is pure Heriz: everything is built from straight lines, angles and stepped edges rather than curves. A large 8 lobed medallion sits dead center, outlined in navy and filled with an ivory ground carrying a many petalled rosette in green, rose and sky blue. Above and below it, 2 navy anchor pendants open into starburst rosettes, and each of the 4 corners carries an ivory spandrel filled with palmettes and hooked vine work. The field between them is packed with angular leaf forms, small serrated palmettes and curling cloud bands, drawn freehand so no 2 repeats are identical. The main border runs a navy ground with alternating rosettes and turtle palmettes, flanked by 2 olive and rust guard stripes, and the original ivory fringe survives at both ends. If you are drawn to this kind of angular drawing, it belongs squarely in the family of geometric Persian rugs.

Color and Palette

The field reads brick burgundy, a warm terracotta red that shifts toward rose in the open areas and deepens to oxblood where the wool took the dye more heavily. Against that sits the second dominant color, a dark indigo navy that carries the border, the medallion outline and the 2 pendants, giving the rug the classic red and blue contrast collectors look for in this weave. The relief comes from ivory: the corner spandrels, the medallion core and dozens of small flowerheads are worked in undyed cream wool, and they keep the surface from going heavy. Secondary tones are olive and moss green in the palmettes and guard stripes, a chalky sky blue in the rosette petals, soft rose pink, and touches of gold ochre along the outer stripe. Turned under light the reds move between brick and raspberry, the natural abrash of hand-spun wool dyed in small batches, which is exactly what separates a real village rug from a machine-made copy.

Heriz Origin and Weaving Quality

Heriz is a cluster of weaving villages east of Tabriz, on the slopes below Mount Sabalan, and the rugs made there have a reputation built on 2 things: mineral-rich water that sets the dyes, and local wool that is famously tough and high in lanolin. Weavers there work from memory and from a village drawing rather than a full cartoon, which is why the medallion is bold and angular and why the field ornament varies slightly from one side to the other. The back of this piece, shown against a ruler, is tight and even, with clean knot rows on a cotton foundation and no stiffness or curl at the edges. Heriz village weaving is generally not a high knot count affair, and it does not need to be: the density of the wool and the weight of the beat-down are what make these rugs last for generations on a busy floor. For anyone judging the age and patina of a piece like this, our guide on how to date an oriental rug explains what to look for in the back, the fringe and the dyes.